


Small Town Skeleton and a Hunter

by TrasBen



Series: Skeleton Shipping [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blue is an exorcist, Demon AU, Edge is just an edge baby, Finally, Gaster is........ trying his best, Hot Springs, M/M, Red is a demon, Stretch is an exorcist in training, Underage Drinking, Will add more as I go, buckle up the plot is starting, very blushy skeletons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2020-05-20 09:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19374202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrasBen/pseuds/TrasBen
Summary: Demon AUBlue's a high up exorcist who's lost his passion for the job since he's been transferred to an office. A recent murder, however, sparks his zeal for 'Demon Hunting' once again when he's assigned to investigate it.What should be an easy open-and-shut case turns into complex labyrinth of questions as the small village's dark connections come to light - and it doesn't stop there.Well. At least there's the cute waiter at Grillby's to look forward to.[note that i'm currently editing the tense of this fic, so tense may vary from chapter to chapter. i know it's a lil weird, please bear with me ^^;]





	1. arrival

 

 

Blue felt the demonic energy in the air as soon as he entered the village - it felt like a physically oppressive force weighing down on his SOUL, as if it was trying to pry his rib cage open and _know_ him.

 

It was a gross feeling. Especially after having been on a day-long train ride to get here.

 

He noted that it was having a similar effect on his brother - whose usually lax posture was tense, chest puffed like there was something crawling down his spine.

 

“what th'  _hell_ …” The taller skeleton muttered, hand fidgeting with the inclination to reach into his hoodie pocket (he’d owned the article for years, and its once vibrant orange had been dulled by time, use, and dirt into a faded burnt sierra). He usually kept a pack of cigarettes in said pocket, but at his brother’s insistence, he’d not brought any to the village.

 

(Smoking was a deplorable habit, really. Part of The Academy’s training was to ‘overcome your personal demons’, and this certainly applied to Stretch’s smoking.)

 

Blue’s brow bone quirked at the taller’s nervous tell as he patted the other’s arm.

 

“Easy on the language, brother! We’re on a job, professionalism is key!”

 

A brief huff was all he got in response, along with a few mumbled choice words.

 

“The Good Goddess _is_ listening at all times, you know.” Blue reminded him, starting towards the village entrance.

 

The brothers (Blue, specifically) had been called into town by the local priest who’d seen the rise of violence and debauchery among the youth and feared the worst.

 

Usually, Blue would send advice through letter correspondence - how to handle rebellious teens, words of comfort for the parents - and if the acts of defiance continued, perhaps he would send some cleansing incense. Unrest among the youth was common, and whilst Blue didn’t want to discredit the priest, he also wasn’t one to go on wild goose chases for demons that didn’t exist.

 

It had started that way, too - Blue hadn’t been particularly interested in this case since it was from a small and poor village, away from the action of the Capital where he’d done his apprenticeship and consequently gained an appetite for the high-risk and exciting life of an Exorcist - or as _he_ preferred to refer to it - _Demon Hunter_.

 

As he’d worked up the ranks, however, the less action he got in on. Nowadays they had him cooped up in an office somewhere looking over legal work, giving speeches on new techniques (which he’d yet to be approved to be put into use) and, _yes_ , sending correspondence to concerned priests.

 

He felt more like a glorified PR representative than a _Hunter_.

 

His taller, lazier, _younger_ brother disagreed. As an apprentice himself, he had required quotas and strict training regimes. He often expressed his envy over Blue’s ‘Cushy Office Job’.

 

And - well, Blue couldn’t disagree with the _cushy_ part. He got paid well - well enough to keep a decent roof over he and his brother’s skulls and to cover leisure expenses as well.

 

Back to the oddity of this specific case, though. As far as Blue had been concerned a week ago - it was a simple case of Pissy Priest Syndrome and nothing more.

 

That is, until the murder.

 

Again - sad as the reality of it was, murder was not the most uncommon thing in the world. What _is_ uncommon is a brutalized corpse found in an ‘urban’ alley, completely mauled with bites taken out of the body.

 

Most concerning was that the bites didn’t match any natural animal that was native to the mountainous area around the village. Then there’d been the lack of DNA or clues that would lead to a suspect. The priest… the priest had enclosed photos of the crime scene.

 

Neither Blue nor The Academy could ignore his cries for help any longer, and, as the most knowledgeable Exorcist of the case, Blue had been quickly dispatched. Stretch had come along more as an afterthought since The Academy had gone on its summer break a few weeks prior. Blue… was understandably hesitant to leave his lazy brother home alone for any amount of time.

 

Last time he’d done something like this, Stretch had played video games for three days straight, not once getting up besides to get another fizzy, sugary drink or a bag of chisps.

 

He’d been so depraved that he’d started to drink _honey_ of all things. To Blue’s chargin, Stretch had almost developed as much of a taste for the condiment _(!!!)_ as he had his precious _death sticks_.

 

Successful as Blue had been in getting Stretch to leave behind said cancer bombs, he was reminded of his failure to get his brother to leave behind no less than _ten_ bottles of the sticky, viscous _condiment_.

 

Two of which he’d already managed to down within the five hour train ride on the way to the village.

 

“ _bro_ …!” Stretch wheezed out from behind Blue as he attempted to catch up. Amusingly, his long legs were still no match for Blue’s fast gate.

 

“Hurry along, brother! The priest of the village has been kind enough to pay for us to stay at a local hot spring, and I would _not_ like to make a bad first impression by being late!”

 

Blue slowed marginally, if only out of pity for his brother who seemed rather unused to the weight of his packed bag on his back. Blue himself had no trouble with his own bag - he packed light, and besides that, trained regularly to keep himself in tip-top condition.

 

He briefly thought about contacting The Academy and alerting them of some of the student’s lack of weight-lifting ability.

 

“hot springs sound like _heaven_ …” Stretch sighed, adjusting the pack on his back.

 

Blue hummed in agreement - the demonic energy was getting stronger the further inward of the village they traveled, feeling almost like it was slithering between his bones to better acquaint itself with him.

 

“I don’t think that it’ll be very relaxing considering the heavy Presence in this place - the demon is either very strong, or has been here for awhile… perhaps both…” He muttered the last part to himself, not wanting to concern his brother.

 

“yeh? think it could’a been a dormant type? could’a taken root years ago an’ came up an about when violent energy started up.”

 

“It’s possible. Buuuuutttt…. If it truly _is_ an activation-type demon, then it’ll be…” Blue looked at his brother expectantly, trailing off on a high, questioning note.

 

Stretch thought for a number of moments as he followed Blue, even scratching at the top of his skull a few times before answering.

 

“rooted in an’ object?”

 

“Yes! Good job, brother. Most activation type demons are activated by violent intent or presence. Once it’s awakened, it’ll spread the same energy and slowly start to poison the SOULs of the occupants of the village.”

 

“ _ugh_ . i thought school was on _break,_ ” Stretch whined. However, despite his complaint, he continued to listen as Blue lectured.

 

“ - It’s an important lesson, Papy, especially since you’re going to be on the field with me. Anywho, since activation-type demons are low level and take root in inatimate objects, it’s unlikely to be the type we’re dealing with now. Remember the murder? Activation-types have been known to influence others into undertaking violent acts, but it would be happening on a mass scale.”

 

“sooooo… not an activation-type?”

 

“Most likely not,” Blue confirmed. “To me, it seems to be a textbook case of Summoning Gone Wrong - letting a fairly powerful demon loose. It would also explain the odd murder, which seems to be neither an animal, human nor monster act.”

 

Stretch grunted, “how’dya figure?”

 

“The priest mentioned rising conflict among youth. Most summonings gone awry are conducted by misguided youth in a tense living situation - which you’d know if you studied, by the way.”

 

Affonted, Stretch countered Blue’s theory.

 

“i _study_ , mr. office job. also - th’ demon would have probably killed th’ kid if that was the case. th’ murder victim was an _adult_ male. _plus_ th’ presence in th’ village has been here for awhile. _i can feel it in my bones_.”

 

The elder skeleton simply offered a non-committal hum in response. Stretch was, however, very correct in his statement - the energy of this small town was too corrupted for a blitz demon summoning.

 

The Presence was _thick_. This demon was cocky - not even bothering to hide their presence. If Blue’s previous encounters with demons were any sort of indicators, the demon was likely full of themselves.

 

Blue had seen many prideful demons in his days working in the field. It was a fatal flaw of theirs and quite often the strongest tool in their downfall. Getting one to underestimate him, what with has, ahem, _lacking_ height and round cheekbones, Blue wasn’t the most intimidating monster.

 

But. Annoying as it was to be looked down upon, the look of utter _shock_ and the sudden spike of _fear_ he could feel coming off of them always made up for it. _More_ than made up for it, really.

 

… Blue wouldn’t let anybody know it, but he was a bit of a sadist.

 

“yeah?” Stretch teased, lightly bumping his hip into Blue’s side, “too high and might with yer fancy title to listen to yer _kid bro_?”

 

Blue gave a more aggressive shove to his brother, but Stretch anticipated it, so he did little more than sway to the other side slightly upon impact.

 

Unsatisfying. But. _Someone_ needed to be the bigger person. ~~And given Blue was unable to do so physically...~~

 

“I _think_ that your theory was largely based on your ability to make a pun at the end.”

 

“an', _i_ , the great papyrus, think that _you_ are closed off to new theories that ain'tcher own.”

 

“OH. WOW. WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT??” Blue grabbed at his brother’s arm to drag him towards a building.

 

… According to the map the priest had drawn up, this _should_ be the hot springs.

 

“GUESS WE’RE HERE!!!”

 

…

 

A few moments later, Blue looked up at his brother innocently.  “Sorry, Papy, did you say something?”

 

…

 

A small huff of laughter, “nah, bro.”

 

 


	2. detective mode: ... not quite activated.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue heads down to grillby's to try and get information out of locals, however that server is quite distracting.... 
> 
> and why is stretch drunk?!

 

 

Blue would have liked to say that the springs were delightful. They certainly were _beautiful_ , with the surrounding forest area and the iridescent, magical pools of water out back (the springs had formed as the result of the area being naturally abundant in ambient magic), not to mention the tour guide had been so helpful and kind (if a little - _a lot_ \- chatty), however - 

 

The Presence. Got. Worse. And. Worse.

 

Stepping into the building was like stepping into a container of pressurized air - he got a headache within the first five minutes of the tour. Which. Might have been partly to the credit of the guide chatting the ears he didn't have right off his skull.

 

Stretch hadn’t done any better - Blue’s brother had stepped out for ‘some fresh air’ after only a few minutes.

 

Blue had gotten a text a few seconds later stating that Stretch was ‘scoping out’ the town. He’d be back in time for dinner.

 

Figured.

 

The tour guide seemed to be none the wiser of the Presence, but clued into Blue’s struggles fairly early.

 

“Are you okay?” She asked, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. “Is the hot air too much?”

 

Politely yet firmly, Blue pulled her hand off him, and smiled reassuringly. He stood up straighter and willed the sweat away from his forehead - he could _not_ afford to show any weakness with a demon on the loose.

 

With his luck, it was likely hiding around the corner, waiting to strike.

 

“No, skeleton monsters aren’t sensitive to temperature like humans.” He explained. She was a bunny monster, hardly as clueless as most humans, but skeletons were a category unto themselves. Blue would have been far more concerned about _her_ had she displayed any signs of heatstroke, seeing as she was covered in fur.

 

“Is it something else, then?”

 

Which completely threw the short skeleton through a loop, because _wasn’t it obvious?_ The Presence was swirling around him, mingling with his magic and pressing _down down down_ on him.

 

Honestly, it was a little astounding that _she_ was still standing at all to Blue.

 

“You don’t….” Blue twirled his fingers in the air, pointing to nothing yet still attempting to get his idea across, “Feel that? At all?”

 

“Is it the humidity? It’s really terrible this time of year, but I’ve lived here for awhile,”

 

“No no no no,” Blue paused her, moving his hands around more insistently, “I mean the _pressure_.” He used that particular word to describe the feel of the Presence, because to most uneducated in Exorcism, demonic energy demonstrated itself as intense pressure.

 

Of course, having much experience in the realm of the unholy, Blue was able to recognize the probing feeling for what it was.

 

However, her own naivety shouldn’t shield her from feeling it at all, which is what made her tolerance for it so insane to him.

 

“... Press…. _ure_ ?” The bunny’s head tilted between the syllables, ears drooping slightly before they perked back up. “Oh! _That_. Well. It’ll go away soon, think of it as an… adjustment period. If you want to move it along, I suggest you go to Grillby’s.”

 

Adjustment period.

 

“I’ve lived here all my life, but I just recently started working at the Springs last summer - it hit me _hard_ , but it went away after only a few days…”

 

The tour guide continued to ramble on, but Blue didn’t hear her.

 

Could what he had previously assumed to be demonic energy simply be an effect of the ambient magic of the valley this village was rooted in? Was Blue's experience not as extensive as he'd assumed. He could have figured the dense aura of magic would feel more… _relaxing,_ though.

 

But. There was still the matter of its _aggressiveness_. Ambient magic didn’t try to get into your head like demonic energy.

 

“And you say it’ll help if I go to this… _Grillby’s_?” He asked.

 

She brightened, “Yup! The Master always suggests it to guests who are staying in town for a short while, and it seems to work for each one! They come back here as good as new, and with full bellies!”

 

Blue assumed the ‘Master’ to be the owner of the Springs, who he’s yet to have met.

 

“All of his stock is local, so maybe it has something to do with helping your body adjust to the magic? I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll be fine either way. The Master told me you were here on business, though, so I think you’d be able to focus better if you went sooner…”

 

And she started off again with the rambling. Blue knew that he _should_ be paying attention - any scrap of information about this town was helpful when trying to root out a demon, but the energy around him was simply _draining_.

 

She _had_ mentioned that Grillby’s was a restaurant… likely a good place to start with his investigation.

 

“Is Grillby’s popular among locals?” Blue tried his best to make the question casual as he didn’t want to potentially tip off any locals to his investigation.

 

Telling people their village was under surveillance to find a _demon_ was a good way to not only incite panic, but also many a nasty looks. They always seemed to think that _Blue_ was the one who brought the demon, disregarding the fact that his job was to _get rid of it_.

 

“Yup! Personally, I don’t make it out that often, but some of the other girls who work here don’t mind picking some up for me during lunch -”

 

“Thank you, you’ve been very helpful,” Blue cut her off. “But I have some business to attend to. May I have my room key?”

 

The bunny lady fumbled around in her pockets for a few moments before handing over a key.

 

“Sorry about that! Me and the other girls have been trying to convince the Master to switch to key cards, but technology like that always fritzes out here!”

 

Blue offered her a tired grin - emphasis on the tired. _How much air did her lungs need to talk so much??_

 

“No problem. I’ll take my leave now.”

 

But, as he was walking away - 

 

“Excuse me?? Sir? You’re going the wrong way! Room fourteen is in the east wing!”

 

“Sorry, thank you…” Blue murmured, hurriedly walking in the opposite direction, a slight blue flush overtaking his skull.

 

Maybe he shouldn’t have tuned so much of the tour out, after all…

 

“It’s no problem! When I first started working here, I got lost at least five times a day - Oh! Okay, bye, sir!“

 

On the other hand, maybe it was justified.

 

\---

 

Once safely inside his room, Blue sat down heavily on one of the twin-sized beds and took out his phone to text Stretch.

 

**MagnificentMe**

4:17 p.m.

 

_BROTHER!!!!_

_WHERE ARE YOU???_

_I HAVE A LEAD!!_

_A RESTAURANT… CALLED GRILLBY’S!_

_I BELIEVE SOMEONE THERE MIGHT HAVE INFORMATION!!_

_IT’S APPARENTLY POPULAR AMONG LOCALS!!_

 

**TallLazyBrother**

4:19 p.m.

 

_kay_

_meet u ther?_

 

Blue rolled his eye lights in his skull - his brother’s grammar got worse everyday.

 

**MagnificentMe**

4:19 p.m.

 

_I’LL BE THERE IN THIRTY MINUTES!!!_

_YOU BETTER BE THERE!!!_

_OR ELSE…._

_NO HONEY FOR THE REST OF THE TRIP!!!_

_I MEANT!_

_BUSINESS TRIP!_

_BECAUSE…_

_WE’RE HERE ON BUSINESS!!_

_STRICTLY SERIOUS BUSINESS…._

_NOT!!_

_FUNNY BUSINESS!!!_

 

**TallLazyBrother**

4:20 p.m.

 

_lol._

_no probb_

_ <image attached> _

 

It was a picture of Stretch at the bar of some restaurant. Wait… the neon, light-up sign he was posing in front of… said… Grillby’s?! If Blue had eyes, they would have been nearly popping out of his eye sockets in frustration.

 

**MagnificentMe**

4:21 p.m.

 

_HOW??_

_DID YOU GET THERE BEFORE ME????_

_NEVER MIND._ _  
_ _DON’T TELL ME._

_STAY THERE AND START INTERROGATING THE LOCALS!!_

_I MEAN QUESTIONING!!_

_ACTUALLY…_

_DON’T TALK TO ANYONE UNTIL I GET THERE!!_

_I MEAN IT!!_

_I BETTER NOT HEAR ABOUT A TALL, LAZY, ORANGE SKELETON CAUSING MISCHIEF!_

_YOU’LL RUIN OUR REPUTATION BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING!!_

_… ALSO_

_DON’T TELL ANYBODY WHAT WE’RE HERE FOR!!_

_WE MUST NOT CAUSE ANY PANIC!_

_ALSO ALSO… WE MUST HAVE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE AGAINST THE DEMON!_

 

**TallLazyBrother**

4:23 p.m.

 

_uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh_

_okjay_

_i wonyt tell any1 elsw_

 

**MagnificentMe**

4:23 p.m.

 

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ‘ANYONE ELSE’???_

_PAPY????_

_HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU TELL??_

_ANSWER ME!!!!_

 

Three minutes ticked by without a reply, so Blue once again pocketed his phone and exited his room. 

 

He really had to do everything, didn’t he?

 

Luckily, Grillby’s was a short walk from the Springs, especially with Blue’s brisk pace, so he arrived in around twenty minutes, well ahead of the time he’d set. Sure enough, his lazy (and possibly inebriated brother - Good Goddess, did he lie about his age again?) was sitting at the bar, head pillowed in his arms.

 

Blue calmly stalked up to the bar, standing behind his giggling brother for a few moments, gathering himself.

 

“sir?”

 

A voice to Blue’s right caught his attention before he could start scolding his brother, causing him to turn.Stretch, apparently recognizing the voice, turned in his seat, as well, grinning widely.

 

“ooooooohhh~ hey, spikey bro…. w-watchu doin’ here?”

 

The owner of the voice, a short and stocky skeleton, only slightly taller than Blue himself with shark-like triangle teeth (one being gold), a large crack traveling up from his right eye socket and clawed phalanges, gave an exasperated sigh.

 

“i wadn’t talkin’ ta _ya_ , brat.”

 

The skeleton turned to the _very_ confused Blue and put on a customer-service smile he was all too familiar with. Stretch grumbled and put his skull in his arms to close his eyes.

 

“sorry ‘bout dat, sir. anythin’ i c’n getcha? a seat? drink?”

 

Blue shook his head negative, feeling a little miffed. Who was this skeleton…?

 

A cursory glance at his attire clued Blue into the fact that he was a server, but there was something… off about him.

 

“No, no….” Blue said, then immediately felt like kicking himself. He was supposed to be investigating this joint!! Which would be _very_ hard to do without getting a seat.

 

“I-I mean, yes,” he corrected, “I’m sorry about my brother here. I was going to have a bite, but it seems he needs to be taken back to our living arrangements.”

 

The other skeleton gave Blue a once over, as well. 

 

“yer dis kid’s bro?”

 

“Yes, sorry for the trouble.”

 

At Blue’s confirmation, the server’s demeanor changed. He was still smiling, but it seemed off. More off than before. He looked like he was _evaluating_ Blue, grin between a smirk and something else.

 

“ey, it ain’t a problem. get brats in ‘ere like ‘im all da damn time. ’fact, my own kid bro’s prone ta trouble.” He snickered, patting the stool next to Stretch for Blue to take a seat before heading around to the other side of the bar.

 

“‘s it true what ‘e said, tho? yer both exorcists?”

 

Stretch drug his skull up from where it had been pillowed on his arms to give an indignant look over to the server. “i’mmmmnot a liar!!”

 

“ya ain’t ‘xactly sober, ei’der, kid.”

 

“i’mmmnot a kid…” 

 

Blue groaned, ignoring his brother’s whining. Was this what he meant when he said he wouldn’t tell ‘anybody else’? He’d already spilled his metaphorical guts to the _bartender_ like a classic drunk.

 

“Don’t listen to him, he’s only eighteen.” The short skeleton snapped in Stretch’s direction.

 

The other skeleton - _Red_ , if his name tag was accurate - blinked in surprise. “really? thought ‘e was younger.”

 

“And yet you _still_ served him alcohol?” Blue couldn’t hold back the bite in his tone if he’d tried to. Not that he had.

 

“woah, woah,” Red defended, holding up his hands in surrender. “‘course not. th’ brat grabbed a drink i was slidin’ towards sum’mon else and drank it all down in ‘un go. i wan’ned t’ call sum’on, but ‘e said ‘is bro was pickin’ ‘im up.”

 

“yyyyooouu said it was coke!” Stretch grouched.

 

“short fer _rum an’ coke_ , brat.” Red spat back.

 

“ _yyyooouuuu’rrree_ shoorrrttt, spikey bro.” Stretch's skull once again fell to his arms, where it didn't lift again. Blue assumed his brother must have passed out. Well. Might as well make himself comfortable.

 

“whatevah,” Red rolled his (hypnotizing, crimson) eye lights before turning back to Blue. His gaze was intense again, grin funny. “so, what? never answered mah quest’in. y’all exorcists ‘r what?”

 

Blue saw no reason to lie when Stretch had already spilled the beans - the best he could hope for was to do some damage control.

 

“Yes, we’re here investigating a supposed demon. I’m meeting with the local priest tomorrow.”

 

“that asshole? heh, he try an’ convince ya we got sum spooky shit goin’ on?” Red laughed, but he looked tense.

 

“Language, _Red_. And, yes. He’s been sending me letters for months trying to get me to visit, but I refused until the recent murder.”

 

Red stiffened further, grin souring before it turned up again, _fakely_ . “hnn? oh, yeh. happened jus’ down th’ street. real spooky. if ya ask _me_ , tho, fucker deserved it.”

 

Blue quirked his brow ridge up at the other skeleton, “I don’t believe anybody deserves to be mauled by a demon, or to have his SOUL eaten.”

 

“... his SOUL was eaten?”

 

Realizing he’d given away too much information, Blue shut his mouth. “I, uh, sorry. That’s classified information. Don’t be afraid, though, I’m quite good at what I do. I’m sure I’ll have that demon gone in no time, so be it, or if I’m not the Magnificent Blue, mweh!”

 

Red’s tense shoulders dropped a little, a small, genuine laugh leaving his teeth. “guess dat’s good, then, huh?”

 

Something that felt suspiciously like Blue’s SOUL gave a little flutter, but he disguised his sudden fluster by covering his teeth with the back of his hand.

 

“Y-Yes! If you wouldn’t mind, could I get a drink…?”

 

Red smirked, grabbing a glass from under the bar. “got any special requests?”

 

Blue waved his hand, slight blush now gone.

 

“House special, if you will? I’m not exactly a lightweight.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!! i'm just getting back to work at the moment so i'm a little busier and more tired than i'd like to be...
> 
> also!! they meet >:)
> 
> surely nothing bad will happen when having a few drinks while talking to your local demon bartender, hmmm....?
> 
> here's my [tumblr (@beanniebenn)](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com) if you'd like to drop by and say hi or smth!!


	3. hellish hangover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> there's just something about that red guy.

 

 

_ How did I get this drunk? _

 

Blue’s body was hot, burning with intoxication. His eye lights occasionally grazed the bar and its occupants - however, every minute or so he found his gaze trained on the red skeleton moving around, taking orders, serving drinks and laughing with certain patrons.

 

Whilst his eye lights were free to wander, however, his body had lost most of its function - his skull was heavy and his bones sluggish. In contrast, his magic was buzzing excitedly in his bones, amped with the added magic that came from the alcohol he drank.

 

He was lapsing between moments of consciousness, almost like he was only seeing the night in brief flashes.

 

Blue only remembered the burn of alcohol, getting duller with every drink he consumed.

 

He remembered concerned voices, a basket of fries placed in front of him, someone was giving him a glass of something clear and cool… water…

 

Then his brother was nudging gently at his lax body, Blue closing his eyes as he was moved…

 

…

 

 And he awoke with the worst hangover of his life. His skull felt as though it was imploding, his tongue had manifested itself due to his extremely dry mouth, and his vision was blurry when he tried to blink away the pain in his head.

 

“Papy?” Blue weakly called, hoping to at least get some reassurance that his brother was okay - especially after a night of drinking so heavily he could hardly remember what had happened.

 

He doesn’t even remember how he got back to the hotel room…

 

And he  _ was _ at the hotel room - the bed felt the same, and the light that was currently irritating the shit out of him was coming from the same direction he remembered the window being in.

 

A quiet snore was the only response he got.

 

Blue sighed. At least it was confirmation of life.

 

Pushing himself up with a groan, Blue glanced around the room.

 

Just as he remembered it, albeit a tad… messier. Out of the corner of his socket, Blue glanced at the time and nearly dropped back onto the bed.  _ He nearly dropped out of existence. _

 

It was already past noon. Meaning.

 

That he was late by more than a few hours to his meeting with the priest.

 

_ He was LATE!!! To a MEETING!!! _

 

Not to mention that he was hungover, and there was a large chance his  _ underage _ brother was too, and didn’t that just set the best example - !

 

If this got back to the Academy, Blue was screwed. He dropped his head to his phalanges with a painful ‘thunk’ and groaned pitifully.

 

…. Was it too late to ask the priest for a rain check? Say something came up? Maybe that he was following a new lead?

 

Not that there was a lead - last night he was supposed to question the locals, but ended up overestimating his drinking ability (had it really been that long?) and getting too drunk to move.

 

Blue might have banged his skull against the wall if it didn’t already feel like his mistakes from last night where already doing it for him. “Mweh…” He bemoaned.

 

Extracting himself from his bed, Blue headed straight for the shower to get ready and hopefully push the steady ache out of his head. He passed Stretch on his way there and gave him a small kick to help with the ‘waking up’ process.

 

“GET UP, LAZYBONES!!”

 

Ow ow ow ow.

 

Going on Stretch’s merely half annoyed response, it had definitely hurt Blue more than him to do that.

 

Oh well. The sacrifices he makes as an older brother.

 

//////

 

Blue’s shower was quick, but did a number on his hangover, helping him to thankfully restrain it to a tiny annoyance at the back of his mind. Luckily, Stretch was also being particularly agreeable for once, already dressed in one of his cleaner outfits, staring at his phone on his bed by the time Blue was fully ready in his dark jeans and a sweater.

 

“hey, bro?” He asked, idly swiping at the screen.

 

“What, Papy?”

 

“you think they got internet here? don’t really want to use all of my data for the month on your ‘business trip’.” He showed Blue his screen, which was opened up to the settings where it showed zero nearby networks to connect to.

 

“plus, the service sucks. takes, like, ten minutes for something to load up.”

 

Looking for too long at the device caused the pounding in Blue’s head to start up again, so he pushed it away. “I don’t know,  _ Jerry _ . Ask one of the employees here.”

 

Stretch raised a brow ridge at Blue in surprise, “ _ some _ one’s grumpy this morning. what, did that waiter guy turn you down?”

 

It took Blue a few moments to connect the dots, a brilliant azure flush covering his skull at the implication. He nearly screeched into his hands as he hid his face.

 

“W-WHAT???” He took a few deep breaths before lowering his hands and giving his brother a stern expression. Which. Probably wasn’t too effective since he was still blushing like mad. “Why?? Why would you even ASK something like that?”

 

Sure, Red was interesting and certainly not  _ unattractive _ , but the point stands that Blue’s known him for less than a day and only while he was working… while they were both…. ‘Working’....

 

Blue uses the term lightly to describe what he’d been doing at the bar that night.

 

Stretch shrugged, going back to tapping on his phone. “you seemed pretty  _ in _ to him last night.” he snickered lightly at his own joke.

 

Blue’s blush steadily rose.

 

“I-I didn’t, did I…?”

 

Snorting, Stretch tossed his apparently now useless phone to the side as he made himself more comfortable on the bed - putting his arms up and behind his head like a pillow.

 

“nah, you don’t have  _ that _ much game. plus i was there so it probably woulda been  _ pretty _ awkward if the two of you started hooking up.”

 

Blue’s flat look returned. “So glad I have a brother like you to watch out for me.”

 

Fluttering fake eyelashes, Stretch fanned his face, “awe, shucks, bro. still didn’t tell me why you’re in such a bad mood.”

 

“It’s called a hangover.”

 

Stretch blinked, actually surprised.

 

“skeletons get those?”

 

This earned an even flatter look from Blue.

 

“Being a skeleton does not exclude you from basic monster soul biology.”

 

Blue’s younger brother whistled, expression growing smug.

 

“heh, maybe it’s just a me thing then, ‘cause i don’t feel any worse than usual.”

 

Blue tried to shove down his jealousy and sighed. “As wonderful as this conversation is, we’re late for a meeting - “

 

“that’s still on? i thought the priest woulda cancelled since you slept in so long.”

 

Grinding his teeth, the shorter skeleton continues, “As I was saying, we’re  _ late _ for an important  _ meeting _ so we should head out  _ now _ .”

 

Stretch reluctantly followed Blue out into the hallway, where to his  _ eternal luck _ , the bunny lady from yesterday was walking by.

 

Oh joy.

 

What a gift.

 

To make matters even  _ better _ , she recognized them instantly.

 

“Mister Blue!! I was worried about you when you didn’t leave your room this morning, I’m glad to see that you’re alright - “

 

Stretch grumbled something about being “chopped liver”, but Blue ignored him.

 

Blue offered the lady a sheepish grin, “Ah, I’m okay, just had a bit too much fun at Grillby’s yesterday.”

 

She giggled.

 

“I figured! Mister Red doesn’t usually bring people back to the Springs, but I recognized you and your brother and figured that must have been what happened! By the way, how are you feeling? Is the pressure still bothering you?”

 

Red ...? Brought him back ...? How had the server even known where he was staying? There was something distinctly suspicious about this.

 

“I’m feeling…” Actually, besides the hangover, Blue was feeling  _ much _ better than yesterday. The Demonic Presence that had plagued him yesterday was gone. If he dug deep into himself to feel around, all he could detect now was a gentle, almost curious probing. Curious.

 

Imagine that. The thought of a demon being  _ curious _ , almost  _ amused _ , as the almost  _ playful _ edge to the magic would have suggested.

 

“Great. Actually. But, about Red,”

 

Bunny Lady squealed, waving to someone behind Blue, much to his confusion. Beside Blue, Stretch glanced back and straightened in surprise.

 

“speak of th’ devil,” Stretch intoned.

 

“i ain’t th’ devil, but ‘m pretty close,” A rough voice joked. A rough voice that sounded very familiar and very much like a certain Red skeleton whose name was also Red. Blue whirled around in shock, coming face-to-face with,  _ yes, the skeleton of the hour, _ Red.

 

Well. Not exactly face-to-face seeing as Red maintained a respectful distance. The skeleton’s cordiality was something Blue found himself appreciating quite a bit.

 

“Good morning, Mister Red!” The bunny called.

 

“mornin’, bun.” He replied, then turned his attention to the skeletons in front of him. “how’re ya two doin’?”

 

Bun, apparently, waved goodbye soon after, leaving the skeletons to talk among themselves.

 

Stretch hummed, pointing to Blue. “this one’s hungover as all _hell_ but i’m _fired_ _up._ ”

 

The smallest, blue skeleton sighed in a dismayed manner, dragging his hand down his face. Well. There goes what little credibility the brothers had left in this town. Their reputation would be forever tarnished by the scene they undoubtedly caused last night,  _ and _ , as a cherry on top, Stretch was making puns again.

 

To Blue’s surprise, the slightly taller skeleton let out a few chortles of laughter. “awe, man, ya got quite th’  _ funny bone _ onya _ , _ don’tcha?” Red turned to Blue, next, pointing to the tallest skeleton. “ey, i take it back, this kid’s great. ya raised ‘im real good.”

 

Stretch took the opportunity to show off, throwing his arm over an irritated Blue’s head to talk casually with Red. “he doesn’t got anything to do with it!  _ tibia _ honest, he’s real  _ sternum _ about my humor.”

 

“eyyyy,” Red snickered. “looks like ya got a  _ femur _ up yer sleeve, huh? heh, my bro’s the same though. think i mentioned him last night? fucker’d have a stars damned conniption if ‘e heard us right now…”

 

Blue prayed to the Good Goddess Toriel for patience in this trying time. When the two were finished with their sub-par jokes, he pried his brother’s arm from his skull and crossed his own arms over his rib cage.

 

“ _ Tibia _ honest, I wouldn’t blame him. The two of you simply aren’t  _ humerus. _ ”

 

Stretch pouted while Red absolutely  _ exploded _ with laughter.

 

Goddess… Red was easily amused… Blue didn’t find himself quite minding, though. In fact, he almost felt something akin to  _ pride _ bubbling up in his rib cage as he observed the skeleton who was laughing himself into stitches.

 

_ … That red flush over his face looked kind of nice, actually… _

 

!!

 

Blue found himself startling at the thought that had popped into his skull, unbidden. The oddness of it (and yes, only that, Blue refused to think further into the warmth that was spreading in his SOUL) caused a small blue blush to overcome his own skull - though he  _ easily _ hid it with a hand.

 

Stars…! And he wasn’t even drunk this time.

 

This time. Oh Goddess… the guide… Bun, had it been? Had mentioned Red carrying Blue in.  _ That _ was something he was never going to live down - if it was true, of course.

 

“heh, maybe ya ain’t th’ stick in th’ mud yer brother made’ja out t’ be.” Red’s voice was a deep, rolling timbre still lightened from his laughter, and  _ no, _ Blue did  _ not _ find it particularly enjoyable, not at all.

 

That would be unprofessional and  _ childish _ .

 

“Well, I would say he loves to drag my name through that very same  _ mud _ , but that would be giving him too much credit. I don’t think he could drag anything heavier than his own feet to the refrigerator.”

 

“hey!” 

 

Stretch’s protest went largely unheaded as the two continued in their banter, however.

 

“hm? so yer name’s pretty  _ weighty, _ then?” Red’s tone was curious and slightly flirtatious - that was, if Blue wasn’t getting to full of himself to assume that this skeleton  _ might _ be interested.

 

“I’m proficient in my field, but I wouldn’t go  _ throwing _ it around if I were you, no.” Obviously, Blue was only engaging back in order to be polite.

 

“makes sense that a  _ priest _ would say somethin’ like tha’.” The red-toned skeleton was almost  _ purring _ , which Blue was  _ certain _ wasn’t his own ego or imagination. (But the slight  _ bite _ as Red mentioned Blue’s profession could have been.)

 

It felt almost… nice… to be doing something like this after so long of focusing on his job. 

 

Except. Blue was literally  _ on the job _ . Right now. At this moment. Great. Two days back in the field and Blue was getting drunk and flirting with potential leads.

 

“ _ Exorcist _ . I don’t teach sermons.” Blue felt it was an important distinction.

 

“shucks,  guess i can’ call ya  _ father, _ then.”

 

Blue almost  _ choked. _ He was sure his skull was burning as he replied. This skeleton…!

 

“T-Technically, that would not be a…  _ proper _ title.”

 

“can we please stop talking about your daddy kink.” Stretch  _ sounded _ casual as he said this, but one glance revealed that his own skull was neon orange. Maybe it was time to end this line of conversation….

 

Thankfully, Red relented, clicking his tongue.

 

“priests were always a lil’ too  _ preachy _ fer me, anyways.” Red shrugged.

 

“Well!” Blue clasped his hands together, smiling kindly at the slightly taller skeleton. “This conversation has been lovely, and I do hope to see you again! Unfortunately, my brother and I have business in town, but I wish you a blessed day.”

 

Red gave the brothers an easy smile, looking so  _ soft _ for a moment, that Blue completely disregarded the spiky teeth, cracks and chips that marred the skeleton in front of them. All he could see was  _ Red _ . Kind and gentlemanly…

 

“hey, everyday under th’ sun is a blessin’, huh?”

 

“I couldn’t put it better myself!” Blue returned the soft smile, before remembering, “Oh! And thank you for the assist last night. Ms. Bun mentioned that you brought us back here, I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

 

Almost as if he’d just recalled it himself, a small pink hue barely covered Red’s cheekbones, and his hand came up to scratch at it like it was an itch. “oh, don’ worry ‘bout that. i live here, too, y’know? fells- i mean, m’ dad, he own’s th’ place.”

 

Interesting. Well. That explained how Red had found the place and known Bun.

 

“‘kay. thanks for everything, reddy-boy, but we got somewhere to be ~ ” Stretch, after finishing, promptly began to drag Blue away faster than he thought his brother was capable of going.

 

When they were out of earshot of the red skeleton, Stretch turned to his brother with a cheeky grin.

 

“Don’t say it…” Blue grumbled.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blepppp.... what's up y'all.....
> 
> haven't updated in awhile due to school and other stuff i got going on in terms of writing,,,,,
> 
> so! if you aren't reading my [kustard](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19979056/chapters/47297761) fic, i'll also state it here: i'm thinking of updating once every other week so i have more time for my other projects (sans/reader and papyrus/reader)!!!
> 
> leave a comment (i mean if you want to)
> 
> and
> 
> here
> 
> take [this](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com) . it's dangerous to go alone.


	4. thought about flipping a few pews on my way out but i'm too tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> title summary.

“you’re  _ so _ into him.”

 

“ _ You’re _ about to be  _ into  _ some  _ trouble _ if you don’t drop it.” Blue replied in a warning tone, avoiding eye contact with his brother. Mostly because Stretch was One Hundred Percent Correct. Blue, apparently, did have quite a ‘thing’ for the red skeleton.

 

But that would be absolutely  _ endless _ teasing material for his younger brother, so Blue was trying to let  _ that _ die out.

 

“can’t fool me, bro. i saw you two last night… nyeh… you want to  _ bone _ him, hmm?” Stretch snickered, patting his pockets before turning glum. “damn, forgot i left my cigs at home…”

 

Scowling, Blue huffed. His skull was probably bright Blue (when was the last time he’d met a monster who interested him like Red did…?) as he replied, “I do NOT want to hear anymore about me and… the son of the Springs’ owner.”

 

“alright… alright…” Stretch relented, even while holding a small quirk to his grin.

 

“I mean it!” Blue reiterated.

 

“i gotcha, bro, seriously. ‘sides, don’t we have a meeting with that priest?”

 

Finally calming, Blue nodded. “Yes! Originally, we were supposed to meet at nine o’ clock at the church… but something tells me he’s still there.”

 

“there’s those powers of deduction you’re famous for.”

 

“Watch it,” Blue scolded with a playful eye roll. “Besides, it’s only the second day! Everybody… ah… has  _ trouble _ the first days!”

 

“uh huh.”

 

“Excuse me, but  _ who _ here has seven years of experience as an exorcist?”

 

“way to toot your own horn, bro, but you’d have experience being  _ horny _ , wouldn’t y-” Blue  _ jumped up _ to slap a hand over Stretch’s mouth, giving him an exasperated look, cheeks bright blue.

 

“STOP IT!! No more talking about Red today, got it??? Zip, Zilch, Nada.”

 

“...”

 

Stretch grinned. Blue’s face paled in realization.

 

“... i didn’t say anything about red…”

 

“Well… you were implying it!” Blue insisted with narrow and suspicious sockets.

 

“i wasn’t, actually.” Stretch countered with a victorious look, “was supposed to be a joke abut  _ blue _ balls, but go on, incriminate yourself.”

 

“DESIRING RELATIONS WITH A FELLOW ADULT IS NOT A CRIME!” Blue burst with a neon skull, slapping his hands over his teeth right after.

 

“woah, bro, might not want to talk about your  _ desires _ in public.”

 

Blue’s expression became downright  _ poisonous _ before Stretch relented. “okay, okay, for real, i’ll stop.” When Blue didn’t let up, he showed his hands in a display of surrender. “no joke, promise.”

 

Still mistrustful, Blue hesitantly changed the conversation. “Regarding the Presence - “

 

“‘s that still bothering you?”

 

“If you would let me  _ finish _ ,” Blue made a noise like he was clearing his throat, “It seems to have changed intent. This is… rare,  _ unprecedented _ , even. The demon must be smarter than I originally gave it credit for.”

 

“you’re saying it’s… trying to hide?”

 

“Not  _ quite _ . It’s… playful. It might see us as a sort of challenge, or even a  _ game _ .”

 

Stretch shrugged, “maybe it’s a nice demon.”

 

“As much as I would  _ like _ to believe in such a thing as  _ nice _ demons, I would like to remind you of the  _ brutally maimed corpse _ it left as a little present for us a week ago.” Blue sighed as he said, looking to the side thoughtfully.

 

What did the sudden change in intent mean…? Blue could make speculations, sure, and he was fairly confident in his ability to make accurate guesses, too.

 

Demons were sentient creatures, just like monsters and humans, though. Trying to guess their motivation was like trying to guess the motivation behind a blitz murder commited by a stranger. Which is, essentially, exactly what Blue was trying to do.

 

Unlike any other monster or human, though, demons were slippery. Their ability to lie and hide outmatched any criminal.

 

It was possible that anybody in Grillby’s bar last night was the demon, watching them. It was a slightly unnerving thought, considering Blue had let his guard down…

 

“hey, you never asked red more about the murder. it  _ did _ happen across the street from where he works.”

 

Before Blue could scold Stretch for bringing up Red again, he realized that his brother had a point. Inwardly, he kicked himself for passing up the opportunity to investigate. In fact, it seemed like  _ Red _ had been the one doing an interrogation when Blue looked back on it…

 

“Well,” Blue considered, “he  _ does _ live here. I’m sure I can request a meet-up and try to get a little information then.”

 

“...” 

 

It went unsaid, but the two brothers were thinking the exact same thing.

 

_ So, a date, then _ .

 

...

 

The brothers chose to walk in silence from that point on, indulging in a semi-comfortable silence.

 

_ At least _ , Blue reasoned, _ we’re not talking about my love life anymore… _

 

Not that… Blue  _ had _ a love life… 

 

He often times told himself it was because his job kept him busy, but seeing as  _ his _ old boss, Alphys, had a girlfriend, he really couldn’t keep feeding himself and his brother the same excuses. The more time went on, the more Blue thought that maybe he just wasn’t cut out for romance.

 

It wasn’t as if he didn’t  _ want _ to have that perfect, fairy-tale romance (He’d always fancied the idea of being a knight, known for his bravery and charm - and likewise, the idea of finding a maiden or someone to protect and impress), but it simply wasn’t realistic. He was a monster based on schedules and logic.

 

Romance relied on neither.

 

“bro.”

 

Maybe he was setting a bad example for his younger brother? The younger skeleton didn’t have any examples of healthy relationships in his life…

 

“bro.”

 

Of course, there was Undyne and Alphys, who were a lovely couple, but they were rarely around since Alphys got transferred to a different department two towns away and Undyne followed…

 

“ _ bro. _ ”

 

Perhaps he should have a conversation with his brother about toxic relationships and how to set proper boundaries…?

 

“bro…” Stretch grabbed Blue’s shoulder and dragged him back a few feet. “you overshot the church by a few buildings…”

 

Blue looked up to see that he had, indeed, walked right by the large stone building. “By the Stars! I nearly made us even later…”

 

“no complaint here, bro. churches give me the creeps. y’know, they send  _ shivers down my spine _ and everything.” Even despite the pun, the tension in Stretch’s tension betrayed his real discomfort.

 

Lending an annoyed look to his brother, Blue climbed the steps up to the giant wooden doors of the church. “Entitled as you are to your own opinions, I’d rather you not repeat that in front of the priest. He’s been very patient throughout this entire ordeal, so I’d like you to be respectful.”

 

“you know me. my middle name’s respect.”

 

“I seem to remember dad naming you - “

 

The doors swung open before Blue could finish calling Stretch out, revealing an angry old human man. He donned neat clothes and the signature white collar worn by priests. And. The  _ foulest _ scowl on his face since Stretch had accused Blue of being horny on main.

 

“Demons! Get out of here, haven’t I told you!” The man shouted, fleshy face  _ red _ .

 

“Excuse me?” Blue asked, absorbing the abuse as amicably as possible. “Father Rodger?”

 

“Don’t speak my name, you foul beast!” As he was about to slam the door shut in their faces, Stretch caught the momentum of the giant wooden doors with magic and kept them open. The spark of orange light in the taller skeleton’s eye socket seemed to frighten the man, whose face turned from red to white.

 

“nyeh. sure is a strange way to greet the guys you  _ begged _ to be here.”

 

“Y-you… you’re…”

 

“Blue, and this is my brother, Papyrus.”

 

(Disapproving as Blue was of his brother’s intimidation tactics, it was a little more than gratifying to see the man who’d cursed them reduced to such a fearful state.)

 

“yo, call me stretch.”

 

“This is…” The man, pulling a complete one eighty, became quiet, releasing the doors he had attempted to slam. Stretch released them from his magical control after, casually walking in.

 

Blue followed him, albeit reluctantly. 

 

This was... not the sort of welcoming he had anticipated.

 

“... Not what I was expecting.” Father Rodger finished, giving the brothers apprehensive looks. Slowly, the man sat in one of the pews, which were lined parallely to each other, facing the front of the building.

 

Blue chose to remain standing close to the door, while Stretch laid himself across one of the rows a few aisles down from Father Rodger.

 

The stone church was as bare and simple as it was on the outside, only notable features being the high rafted ceilings, stained glass windows depicting The Good Goddess and some of her patrons. At the front of the giant room was an altar with typical offerings to The Goddess, like flowers or fine crops.

 

“How so?” Blue inquired, folding his hands like he did when he knew he was going to want to slap a bitch.

 

“So…” Father Rodger gestured to Blue, “beast-like. Unholy.”

 

Oh yeah. Blue was definitely going to have to restrain himself on this. His fingers twitched, as did his grin.

 

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Father Rodger…?”

 

Father Rodger, unaware of his offense, rambled on. “Oh, I’m sure you’ve gotten it before. Not to be crass, but you look  _ deathly _ . There’s a few miscreants in the town who bear a striking resemblance to the two of you… as you’ve noticed, I don’t take well to them being near my church.”

 

Blue had a feeling he knew exactly (or at least one of) the skeletons Father Rodger was speaking about. Though he knew Red to have a rough exterior, Blue  _ also _ knew through conversation that Red was a kind monster.

 

It was rather obvious that the priest was biased.

 

“Well… appearences aside, I would like to speak with you about the recent murder,”

 

“Yes! Of course, I’ve compiled a list of the local riff-raff, among them those who I believe to be capable of committing the foul act of summoning a demon - “ The priest, in his haste to accuse, seemed almost  _ excited _ about the prospects of one of his suspects being the perpetrator.

 

“... I’m sure that will be…” Blue chose his words carefully, “helpful, in the future, but at the moment I want to talk more about the murder itself.”

 

The priest nodded, placing his hands in his lap while he recounted the event.

 

“It was quite terrible! They found him the morning after, you know the police in this area are  _ awful _ at their jobs! He was in an alley across from that bar, you know…” Another vague gesture was made, similar to the one where Father Rodger had called Blue’s appearance  _ unholy _ .

 

“The monster one.” The human decided on. “His body was all bent out of shape, with beastly bites taken out of him - “

 

Blue held up a hand, remembering the grisly photos he’d seen. “That’s… well, I saw the photos. Is there anything you can tell me about the man? Anybody who might have wanted to harm him?”

 

The priest looked a little irked at being interrupted, but continued on without delay.

 

“Thomas was a good man, I can’t think of a single righteous SOUL who would do such a thing. He was a member of the church, came in every thursday.” Father Rodger’s face twisted, “quite prone to… temptation… though. I’m not surprise hanging around that  _ establishment _ is what did him in. Especially with the type who hung around.”

 

Trying his best to ignore the blatant racism, Blue grit his teeth and asked another question.

 

“So you would say he hung around Grillby’s often, then? Did he have any friends, there?”

 

“Not by his own fault, I assure you!” The priest huffed, “it’s those…  _ unholy _ ones! They tempt him and many others of our once great community, to intermingle, to - it’s, it’s not right, I tell you!”

 

Blue’s brow bone twitched.

 

“Sorry, Father Rodger, you didn’t answer my question.”

 

“ _ YES! _ ” The old man exclaimed, “Tommy was  _ very _ familiar with those monsters! I wouldn’t say they were friends of his, he seemed to enjoy  _ dalliances _ with the beasts.”

 

The blue skeleton elected to ignore that. He needed to focus on his job - as much as Blue wished he could leave this man to the hands of a hungry demon, there were many innocents in this town who didn’t deserve the fate of being killed like Thomas was.

 

“You need to get rid of this demon - It was toying with his mind, I’m sure, to make him want creatures - no offense, but really, I’m sure you agree that our species should not mix. It’s just not right! Perverted, disgusting!”

 

“Father Thomas.”

 

“I’m sure you have a nice  _ monster _ lady waiting for you at home, don’t you? Perhaps you can talk some sense into those  _ others _ . You seem to be exceptionally civilised for your kind.”

 

“Father - “

 

“Maybe you can even reason with that half-wit youngest son of the owner of the Springs, the little bastard seems to enjoy causing mischief,”

 

“Father!”

 

The old man stopped, looking at Blue in shock.

 

“That’s quite enough,” Blue scolded. “I’ve heard more than I needed to. I’ll investigate Grillby’s. If I find anything of interest I’ll notify you.”

 

And with that, Blue swept out of the church, barely resisting the urge to slam the doors shut in a show of anger.

 

Stretch was already waiting outside, leaning on the wall of the building with his hands in his pockets. The last time Blue had seen him, he was still laid out on the pews. Must have teleported.

 

“i could really use a smoke after that.”

 

Blue might have chided Stretch if he didn’t share a very similar sentiment.

 

“We’re going to Grillby’s.”

 

“lit. a drink works, too.”

 

“You’re not drinking.”

 

“damn.”

  
“The Good Goddess  _ is _ \- You know what. Fuck it.  _ DAMN _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuuuhhhhh...
> 
> i'm tired.....
> 
> just.... leave a comment if you liked..... visit my tumblr.....
> 
> here....
> 
> [Link text](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com)


	5. bold of you to assume i have any self confidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue propositions red for a (not) date

 

 

The bar was exactly the same as when Blue had first entered. It had a nice, warm feeling that wasn’t overpowering and an atmosphere of  _ grease _ . Blue loved it. Stretch seemed much less tolerable of the establishment when he wasn’t hammered.

 

“this place feels grosser than i remember.”

 

“Says the one who left a puddle of honey on his bathroom floor, stepped in it with his socks then didn’t change them for a week.”

 

“you  _ said _ you wouldn’t talk about that!”

 

“I make no promises.”

 

“HEYYYY!” A monster, a muscular rabbit who looked like he belonged in Alphys’ guard called out. “It’s YOU!!” He looked around his table, a group of bunnies playing go-fish and grinned.

 

“It’s the guy! I told you about him, he’s the one who - “

 

“nothin’. did nothin’.” A new vice piped up - Blue recognized it as the Red’s  soothing timbre.

 

“Awww… C’mon, Red, you were  _ there _ .”

 

“yeah. nothin’ happened. an’ it’ll  _ stay _ that way, capiche?”

 

“...”

 

“Yeah, okay, whatever, man.” The bunny went back to his game, looking thoroughly chastised.

 

Blue gave Red a thankful look, receiving a grin in turn. The slightly taller skeleton waved them over, patting the bar.

 

“hey, got sum open seats o’er here.”

 

There was no hesitance in Blue’s movements as he went right up and sat down in the seat closest to where Red was shining glasses. Stretch shuffled over and sat next to him, still displeased with his brother’s betrayal.

 

“So!” Blue started, “do you know what that rabbit was on about?”

 

Red’s face became thoughtful, like he was contemplating. “‘m not sure if ya wanna know.”

 

“trust me, he doesn’t.” Stretch replied.

 

“Hey now, I’m an adult… I think I can handle knowing what I did while drunk.”

 

Both taller skeletons gave each other ‘a look’, a hidden message passing through their gaze. Not so hidden tha Blue couldn’t make any guesses, though.

 

_ no he can’t. _

 

“It’s not…  _ that bad _ , is it?” Blue was actually kind of worried - he knew he had a naturally exuberant personality, and with alcohol to lower his restraints… well… let’s just say Alphys has a few stories of her own.

 

“ya jumped on a table an’ danced topless.” Red lied.

 

And Blue could  _ tell _ Red was lying, because his face was pink and he wasn’t making eye contact.

 

Stretch snorted, but didn’t call Red out on his fib. “yeah,” his brother confirmed, “you started singing ‘oops i did it again’.”

 

“Well,” Blue huffed, “that’s a terrible lie. I would  _ never _ sing that delta-crossed song.”

 

“it’s best if ya think that’s all ya did.” Red consoled.

 

The smaller skeleton sighed, cheek bones tinted blue. “Well, fine then, be that way. But I didn’t come here to discuss my drunk tendencies. I came here to ask about the murder.”

 

“awwww… an’ here i thought is was fer more o’ my  _ terrific _ humor.”

 

“Stars, no.” Blue laughed, “I wanted to ask about Thomas. I had a meeting with the priest today - “

 

“fuck. tha’ couldn’a gone well.”

 

“I’ll admit that it wasn’t the highlight of my day.” The blue toned skeleton said dryly. “But he mentioned Thomas coming around here often. Do you know him?”

 

Red’s face soured, like Blue had just shoved a lemon in his mouth, “hell yeah, i  _ know _ him - “ Before the taller skeleton could get into it, though, he seemed to realize himself. “shit. i ain’t… uh… really s’pposed t’ talk about things like murder an’  _ thomas _ while i’m workin’. catch my drift?”

 

“I think so.” Blue replied, a little put-out. Well. As much as he wanted answers, he wasn’t about to get Red in trouble for discussing dark topics at work.

 

“hey, that dun’ mean i  _ won’t _ tell ya about him - jus’... after work… i get off at ten, then grillz takes ova’.”

 

The slightly smaller skeleton perked, eye lights bright. “Great! I’ll… see you then?”

 

Red smiled. He looked  _ genuinely happy _ to hear Blue say that which was just - if that wasn’t all kinds of flustering, then Blue didn’t know  _ what _ was!

 

Stretch made a gagging noise in the background. Nobody paid any attention to him, though.

 

“yeah… but…. it’s pretty early now, so i’d understand if ya’d wanna go back t’ the springs an’ rest up.”

 

Red was right - it was only a little after five, meaning that Blue would be sitting in the bar for about five hours if he wanted to wait for Red to get off work. He felt a little guilty just ditching the skeleton, though, especially after he had made plans to talk about  _ murder _ .

 

“I think I’ll stay a little.” Blue told the other.

 

“iiiiiiiiii’m out, then.” Stretch said, waving Blue and Red off before disappearing.

 

“... yer bro’s an odd one, y’know?”

 

“I really don’t know where I went wrong.” Blue playfully bemoaned. The taller skeleton chuckled and took a glass out from underneath the bar, starting to pour something into it.

 

“here, lemme getcha a drink. dun’ worry, ‘s on the house.”

 

“Oh.” Blue said, “No thanks… I’m not really looking to drink after what happened last night.”

 

“snrk…. what happened t’ ‘not bein’ a lightweight’?” Red teased, putting the drink in front of Blue.

 

“Whatever delta-crossed concoction you served me last time’s what happened. And this killer hangover I woke up with.”

 

Red leaned over the bar to tap at Blue’s skull, clawed phalanx gentle as he probed. “guess that would be kinda a drag.”

 

Blue’s eyelids went half mast as he leaned into the casual touch. “I won’t die or anything. Even if it may make me feel like I want to.”

 

“pft. ‘kay, blue boy. an’ dun’ worry, the drink ain’t alcoholic, ‘s just a local specialty.” Red snorted as he pulled away, pointing again to the drink.

 

Cautiously, Blue brought it up to his nasal cavity to sniff. It… smelled sweet. It definitely had an earthy quality, though.

 

“What’s it made of?”

 

“hm? oh, ‘s derived from the root o’ a tree that only grows locally. kinda like root beer, but sweeter.”

 

Swirling the liquid around in its glass, Blue contimplated whether or not he should chance it. “It doesn’t have any side effects, does it? I’m not really looking to get intoxicated tonight.” Not only did Blue have a  _ very important _ meeting with the skeleton he was currently across from, but it would make the second night in a row he drank, which didn’t bode well with his morals, anyway.

 

“nothin’ but makin’ every other drink taste like shit.” Red joked, “trust me, ‘s good.”

 

Blue took a chance and took a long sip.

 

It was…

 

“This really is good!” He said in awe, looking down at the cup of liquid gold in front of him. He knew his eye lights were probably stars at the moment - they had a tendency to do that when he got excited.

 

Red laughed, leaning forward over the bar on his elbows. 

 

“toldja.”

 

“You did.” Blue conceded, taking another long drink from the cup.

 

“Hey, Red!” A patron from the bar called, raising their hand as the hollered over at the red skeleton.

 

“what?” Red called back, looking irritated.

 

“I want more fries!”

 

The red skeleton grumbled as he flipped the other off (to which they laughed at), then shuffled to the door labeled ‘fire exit’.

 

He flashed Blue a quick smile before he left, “sorry, fergot i’m still workin’.”

 

“It’s no problem.” Blue replied, waving the other skelton’s concerns off. “I have this drink to keep me company!”

 

And what sweet company it was. Blue didn’t usually appreciate sweet things (he was prone to fits of sugar-highs due to his large magic reserve), but this really  _ was _ a good drink. Stretch would appreciate it, too, Blue knew. (Maybe it would even be good enough for Stretch to quit drinking honey?)

 

While Blue finished his drink, Red brought out fries and tended to other customer’s needs, refilling drinks and getting more food. It was another half hour before the red-toned skeleton returned, looking slightly haggard.

 

“wanna refill?” He asked.

 

“Sure, why not?” Blue watched Red as the taller filled his drink with more of the drink, taking in the curve of his shoulders and the way the light bounced off his tooth.

 

The taller skeleton noticed, and went to tease Blue.

 

“see somethin’ ya like?” Red smirked, displaying that tooth.

 

Blue resisted the urge to say,  _ ‘Yes, very much’ _ , and just grinned back. His face might have been a little blue, though.

 

“Say, we don’t know each other very much for people who are going to be discussing murder.”

 

Red quirked a brow bone, “yes, and?”   
  


“You said you had a brother?”

 

Red took a quick glance to the side, like he was worried someone might be listening in before turning back to Blue.

 

“yeah, ‘e’s a scamp, but i love ‘im anyways.”

 

“Glad to know my brother isn’t the only one.... I swear, sometimes I wouldn’t even believe we were related if I didn’t raise him!” Blue joked.

 

Blue didn’t notice Red’s momentarily blank face.

 

“heh. yeah. guess me an’ my bro are th’ same way…”

 

The smaller skeleton drummed his phalanges on the bar, accepting the refilled drink Red slid towards him. He gave the taller skeleton an inquisitive look.

 

“Tell me about him.”

 

Red let out a low whistle, idly catching a glass someone slid towards him and using his magic to put it in a sink behind him.

 

“‘is name is papyrus, but we call him edge, least that’s what he prefers… he’s, uh, sixteen an’ it shows… heheheh…. puberty hit  _ that _ kid hard! he shot up at least half a foot since last year!”

 

Blue watched in silent admiration as Red started to get more enthusiastic, smiling widely as he talked about his sibling. (He didn’t mention it… but it was interesting that their brothers were named similarly - the same, in fact!)

 

“bastard’s a bit o’ a hot head, though. he likes to pick fights and piss off the authority… i’m sure father rodger mentioned somethin’ about it t’ ya, considering…” Red made a vague motion at his own face, “he ain’t th’ most  _ progressive _ tool in th’ shed.”

 

“i try and give ‘im shit fer bein’ a brat, but he’s stubborn as hell.” Red continued, tone simmering. “he… uh… if ya see a bratty lookin’ skeleton, ‘s prolly him. he’s angry at me right now fer… uh… buttin’ in. he ain’t been home in a few days…”

 

Blue felt his SOUL clench - that’s terrible! He felt even worse for getting drunk and making Red carry him back to the Springs… and for taking up his time tonight.

 

“If… If you want, I can help you look for him…?”

 

“nah,” Red chuckled (tensely), “i seen him around… he’s just ignorin’ me is all… buuuttt…” Red leaned in closer, and Blue obliged, meeting him halfway so Red could deliver his message, “if ya see him… ah… tell him he’s in a shitload of trouble wit’ dad, alwright?”

 

“I thought you wanted him  _ home _ …” Blue stated, confused.

 

“trust me, he’ll come  _ runnin’ _ if dad  _ ‘r _ his temper involved.”

 

The skeletons shared a good laugh before they calmed, still giving occasional snickers when they made eye contact.

 

“Honestly…! Stretch is the opposite, my dad’s almost never home, but just the  _ words _ ‘dad wants to see you’ will send Stretch running for the hills..!” Blue confessed.

 

“awww…. he’s a good kid…” Red said.

 

“Hmph.” Blue responded appreciatively, “Yes, I know. He  _ could _ have started smoking, drinking straight up honey and have gotten drunk last night as a minor. Aren’t I lucky?”

 

“shit…!” The two shared another laugh. “fuck, i hope things work out fer ya two. yer good people, y’know?”

 

“You too, Red.” Blue told the other sincerely, “I can’t even imagine having to live in a town with such… unfriendly people. Did you know Father Rodger called me  _ beastly _ ?”

 

A look came over Red’s face - something like  _ guilt _ . But it wasn’t Red’s fault… The other couldn't help having a resemblance to Blue, and neither should feel bad for what they were born as…!

 

“fuck, sorry. bastard’s, well, a  _ bastard _ , but he’s had it out fer me since i moved here. y’know. since i’m kinda the antithesis of everythin’ his church stands fer.”

 

“Nonsense!” Blue exclaimed, “Being a skeleton doesn’t mean you have to wear a symbol of death! The Good Goddess promotes  _ equality _ and  _ love _ !” Honestly, Blue had gotten sick of people telling him the same thing.

 

_ ‘She’s the goddess of fertility and growth… isn’t death the opposite?” _

 

_ “Aren’t you a little gloomy to represent The Good Goddess..?” _

 

_ “... So… beast-like. Unholy.” _

 

“hm. mebbe…” Red said reluctantly.

 

“Red.” Blue looked the other in the eye lights, pinning him with his stare. “are you going to tell  _ me _ that  _ I’m _ evil for being a skeleton?”

 

Red’s eye lights constricted, “no! ‘course not! yer… good… yer real good.” The taller held Blue’s gaze.

 

Neither of them blinked or looked away.

 

… Red’s face started to light up in his namesake, and Blue felt his skull own mirror it.

 

“yer… shiny. pretty. ya and yer bro… ya dun’ deserve that shit. my bro dun’, either, but i figure he dun’ pissed off enough people t’ have it comin’.”

 

Blue wanted  _ so badly _ to shove a fist full of self-esteem into Red’s face and make the skeleton love himself… but… he couldn’t. Not while the two were both  _ technically _ working. It would take more than a few compliments to change Red’s mind, Blue knew.

 

It was just so SOUL breaking to see such a nice person be so down on themselves.

 

“... Thanks.” Blue nodded, returning to his original position in his chair. “I don’t get compliments like that everyday!”

 

“ya deserve ‘em…” Red said quietly.

 

To keep himself from imploding, Blue pulled a  _ masterful _ change of topic. 

 

“SO!! YOU UH - You mentioned moving here?”

 

Very subtle. Blue was a master of conversation, obviously.

 

“oh, uh, yeh.” Red replied, looking caught off guard. “‘bout five years ago, why?”

 

“Did your father take over the Springs from a relative, then?”

 

… Red….

 

Looked like he had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The color in his face drained.

 

Honestly, it left Blue a little concerned.

 

“Red?”

 

“a-ah, n-no… uhhh… he’s, uh, lived here fer a long time.”

 

“...?”

 

“oh, jeez, it’s, uh… it’s a long story.” Red sighed. “i dun’… look. talkin’ with ya’s been real nice, i mean,  _ more than nice _ , but, uh… i gotta work.”

 

“Yes… of course…” Blue replied. It fel like Red had just completely shut himself off from Blue… was the topic really that sensitive…?

 

“i c’n… if ya _ really _ wanna know, i can tell ya after i get off o’ work.”

 

Red gave Blue a small, hopeful grin. “if we’re still on…?”

 

“YES! I MEAN… I mean... Yes! Definitely. I’ll… see you at ten?”

 

Red nodded, grin getting bigger.

 

“rest up, blue boy. i’m sorta nocturnal, so you’ll hafta get used t’ it if ya wanna keep up.”

 

“The Magnificent Blue has boundless energy!” Blue assured the other playfully, “But I’ll take your advice… see you in a few!” The skeleton hopped off the barstool and walked towards the door, repeatedly looking back to give Red conspiratorial little grins.

 

It was only halfway down the street from the bar that Blue realized…

 

_ Delta. I really do have it bad… _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this chapter!! leave a comment!!!
> 
>  
> 
> blue: i'm married to my job and have no social life, and i am fine with this
> 
> red: *exists*
> 
> blue: i'm gay and unemployed what are you talking about
> 
>  
> 
> hey come check out my tumblr - 
> 
>  
> 
> [@beanniebenn](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com)


	6. wherein blue lies to himself some more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue: wowie, can't wait to go on a completely platonic outing, let me just put on my ballgown dress and -

 

 

Preparing for a meeting with Red was far more difficult than it  _ should _ have been. For instance, Blue  _ should not _ be rifling through the clothes he packed, trying to find something ‘suitable’ for his  _ meeting _ .

 

Not date.

 

_ Meeting _ .

 

Strictly business.

 

Even in the face of his -  _ tiny _ \- crush on the slightly taller skeleton, Blue stalwartly remained firm in the fact that  _ this was a business meeting _ .

 

Which.

 

Of course meant Blue had to dress nicely.

 

“that’s bullshit and you know it.” Stretch had told his brother when Blue had come back to the Springs and started going through his luggage.

 

“Language, Papy! The Good Goddess  _ is _ listening!” Blue chimed as he normally would, happily ignoring the younger.

 

“... okay, i’ll  _ humerus _ you. what’s different between meeting him earlier and now?”

 

“You used that joke earlier… AND...  this is a  _ business _ meeting! Before, I was just trying to investigate a little, but this is… official!” Blue victoriously pulled out a soft blue sweater. He always packed at least  _ one _ nice shirt when he went out on the field.

 

But… Stars… what if Red wanted to have another da - 

 

_ Business meeting _ . Business. Right. Strictly.

 

“sounds to me like you’ve  _ officially _ lost your mind. you didn’t get this crazy when we went to meet that douchebag priest.”

 

“I was…” Blue cleared his throat, “ _ In a rush _ . This morning.”

 

“Hungover.” Stretch supplied.

 

“Hush, you.” Blue grumbled, “We don’t speak of that.”

 

“you’re just out of excuses.”

 

“The Magnificent Blue is  _ never _ out of excuses.” Blue sassed, “Why not dress nicely when the opportunity presents itself?”

 

“right.” Stretch sassed back. “and i’m sure that if he offers you coffee at his place, you’ll take one for the team?”

 

“He lives  _ here _ ,” Blue rolled his eye lights. “And you know, I don’t really think he’s the coffee type.”

 

Skeptically, Stretch lifted a brow bone. Don’t get him wrong, he was happy to see his usually  _ worked down to the bone _ brother find interest in somebody, but seeing how Blue was handling it was... frustrating.

 

If you like someone, why not just go for it? As Blue had mentioned, they were only going to be in town until the demon was caught. All the more reason for his older brother to go for it… right?

 

“and you’re so sure of this because…?”

 

Instead of voicing these thoughts, however, he just continued along the converation they were having. Maybe Blue would get so annoyed with his brother that he would lay the red skeleton out of spite.

 

“He’s  _ sensitive _ .” Blue replied, like that explained  _ everything _ .

 

“to caffiene?” Delta…. Blue sounds like a teenage girl....

 

“ _ No. _ Maybe. I didn’t ask him. Should I have asked him? Goddess….” Blue took a moment to rub his face with his hands, burning bright blue. “It’s been a long time since I’ve… done anything like this…”

 

“hey, i’ve heard dating’s like riding a bike.” Stretch paused for comedic timing before delivering the punch line, “if you can’t get a  _ handle _ on it and you’re  _ two tired _ , then you need to hit the  _ breaks _ .”

 

“You make no sense, Papy. And I  _ meant _ … ah… investigative work…” Blue finished lamely.

 

“it was a good joke.” Stretch protested. He left it at that, though. Trying to get Blue to be self aware was like trying to teach a baby quantum physics. Maybe an ‘official’ meeting with Red would get Blue to take initiative. Also, Stretch was a very lazy skeleton.

 

“It was creative, I’ll give you that.” Blue told his brother. “I’m going to shower again… do I need to shower?” Blue idly pulled the collar of his shirt to his nose and took a deep breath. His skull soured.

 

“Uck. Definitely. How did I sweat so much today…?”

 

“hangover.” Stretch supplied.

 

“I  _ told  _ you we don’t speak of that in this house!” Blue whined, “I’ll be in the shower. Don’t bother me unless the demon shows up or the hotel is burning down.”

 

“sounds cool, bro. i’ll be asking around for good service.” Stretch told his brother, waving around his phone. He still couldn’t find a single network nearby to even  _ consider _ hooking up to, and his data was taking  _ forever _ to load. At this point, Stretch might as well have become the reigning king of the dinosaur game.

 

“ _ Do _ try not to annoy the staff too much, Papy.” Blue warned before he disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of the shower starting up following not too long after.

 

Stretch chuckled as he tapped at his screen, releasing the little wifi dinosaur from his static state to run and jump over cacti.

 

///////////

 

Stretch was gone by the time Blue was finished getting ready, although the small skeleton didn’t know  _ where _ exactly the taller was hiding out. It was a little concerning - although, Blue knew there was nothing to be concerned about - to have his brother out so late in a strange, unfamiliar town with a demon lurking about.

 

Of course, Stretch had been training for years to take down demons, and Blue was fairly certain that whatever demon lived in this town was biding their time… but…

 

Stretch has always been Blue’s baby brother, and he always  _ will _ be. Taller than him, maybe, but still hilariously bad at self-care or anything even resembling adulting. Inevitably, though, as Blue feared… the brothers would grow apart.

 

And wasn’t finding romance just the beginning of that…? 

 

Which is why. Of course. Blue isn’t pursuing anything like that. That would be dumb. And childish. And unprofessional.

 

(And of course, Blue, the utter hypocrite told this to himself as he smoothed out the sweater in the mirror and brushed his teeth for five minutes before leaving the Springs)

 

Strangely, Blue found not only a great many staff members of the Springs, but also random monsters on the street greeting him by name. It was almost frightening how quickly the ‘Small Town Vibe’ could get to one, Blue noted as he found himself smiling and greeting them back.

 

Frightening because Blue couldn’t let himself get attached.

 

He lived for excitement… this town was the opposite. After he took down the demon, the place would be nothing more than a speck on the map, once again quiet and dull. The exact antithesis of what Blue had worked so hard for.

 

He wanted to be the best of the best, and with that came the life of a monster on the hunt for demons. Blue delighted in the chase, was enthralled with the fight. He couldn’t imagine a life without city lights and the subsequent dark alleys, home to demons laying in wait…

 

Blue belonged in the Capital. He’s been hooked ever since his apprenticeship, and he knew it. Being transferred to the office had been nearly SOUL-crushing to the small-ish skeleton. It had felt like he was being stripped of his status rather than promoted, a punishment more than a reward.

 

And after all these years… after being placed on the first field mission since his rookie days… Blue was not keen on going back to routine and boring. In fact, he was going to try to do everything it took to stay far, far away from ‘safe’, ‘comfortable’, and ‘quiet’.

 

He was going to catch a demon, and he was going to get his job back.

 

Sadly, this did not include dating, it did  _ not _ include bars, and… it didn’t include funny skeletons with red magic and a kind smile.

 

Blue felt his SOUL squeeze painfully in his chest - for the grief of losing a friend so soon…

 

Because that’s all Red would be to Blue, all Blue would  _ let _ Red be to him. He had to squash this little rebellion in his SOUL before it got out of hand. Feelings were temporary… Blue would grow out of the odd infatuation Red seemed to have unknowingly trapped him in.

 

The dapper skeleton sighed, looking up at the bar that he’d stopped in front of. Red’s shift should be ending soon - he’d mentioned that the owner of the bar took over for the night and early mornings.

 

Almost as if he was proving Blue right, Red stumbled out the door, looking over his shoulder and grinning, “yeah, yeah, ya overgrown candle!” When he turned around, he was surprised to see Blue’s face less than inches away from his own.

 

The two quickly stepped apart, each stuttering out an apology.

 

“jeez… sorry, kid, i, uh… i gotta watch where i’m goin’, huh?” The red skeleton muttered, lightly scratching at the back of his skull.

 

“No, not at all!” Blue denied, “It was me, I shouldn’t have been standing so close to the door…”

 

His words fell into the space between them, fuel for the awkward tension that rose as the two regarded each other’s appearance.

 

_ Oh no _ , Blue internally gulped,  _ he’s hot. _

 

Red obviously hadn’t had time to change out of his work clothes - he still wore his uniform, albeit more ruffled than Blue had seen before. His black slacks seemed tidy, but his white button up was wrinkled, the top two buttons were undone and there was a stain of something (likely alcohol) on the left sleeve. Red’s bowtie was untied and left around the collar of his shirt, suspenders at his sides.

 

… Even so, Red looked straight out of some sort of fantasy Blue shouldn’t be having. In the smaller skeleton’s opinion, Red had no right to look so good after working a shift at a bar….

 

“fuck, imma mess…” Red groaned, belatedly trying to redo the bow around his neck.

 

“Honestly, it’s no problem,” Blue insisted earnestly, “I’m the one intruding on your schedule, anyways.”

 

“yeah, but’cha look nice, an’ here i am…”

 

_ He thinks I look nice… _

 

“I had more time to prepare, like I said, I’m intruding on your night…”

 

Red offered Blue a grin and his hand. “‘s no  _ skin off my nose _ .” The taller told him, “i woulda prolly just sat in all night doin’ nuthin’ if ya didn’ offer.”

 

“Well, I’m sure you need your rest…” Blue mumbled, taking the offered hand and letting himself be lead.

 

“eh, i sleep all day. i wadn’t lyin’ earlier when i said i was nocturnal.”

 

It was an interesting way to live, Blue would give Red that… but it made sense that in such a small town you could set your own schedule. Red probably wasn’t missing much by staying during the day. If anything, the whole town seemed to be livelier at night. The monster population, at least.

 

“So, where are we going?” Blue asked.

 

“i guess i wan’ned ta talk at the springs, but seein’ as ya got dressed up all nice, i figure i should take ya sumplace t’ match, huh?”

 

“You don’t need to!” Blue blurted, guilty. Red had just gotten off from a shift, he probably didn’t want to go somewhere with more people. Plus, the way he said it…

 

_ Kind of sounded like a date _ .

 

And Blue had been very adamant in his internal monologuing that he was  _ not _ looking to date.

 

… But it  _ would _ be rather rude to put intentions into Red’s SOUL like that. For all Blue knew, this was just Red being friendly. The skeleton hadn’t given any indication of flirtation, earlier. Not since that first night, at least.

 

So it was okay to enjoy this, right? As long as there wasn’t any sort of romantic intent, then Blue could go out with Red and have a nice time… nobody ever said you weren’t allowed to have fun on the job.

 

“I’d hate to put you out.” Blue replied. He didn’t object, though.

 

“aww, c’mon, y’ain’t gonna be here long, right? might as well show ya around while yer here. i could be yer tour guide. dun’ mind, really.”

 

Blue tightened his hold on Red’s hand in reply, showing rather than telling the taller that he agreed and trusted him.

 

Red quirked a grin in Blue’s direction and set off at a lazy pace. The rate at which they were walking didn’t match Blue’s thundering SOUL beat in the least.

 

“So,” Blue started, looking anywhere but their conjoined hands, “Are there many places to have fun here?”

 

Red snorted, like Blue had just told a joke.

 

“ _ here? _ yer funny, aint’cha? guess i already knew that, though… nah… i’d say the only place t’ have  _ good time _ is grillb’z. th’ rest of th’ town is a certified bummer.”

 

“So what do you do when you’re off the clock?” Red didn’t seem like the kind of monster who would waste his time doing something he found to be a ‘bummer’.

 

“this an’ that. i’m at grillb’z most o’ th’ time an’ sleep when i’m not.” 

 

“Sounds not fun.” Blue told the other truthfully. He couldn’t imagine a world where he was confined to two locations. He’d probably combust.

 

Red shrugged, “i lost my taste fer adventure awhile ago. ‘s long as i got food an’ a place t’ stay, who am i ta complain?”

 

“I couldn’t do it. I’m something of a busy body.” Blue admitted.

 

“yeah, i got that…” Red shot Blue a smirk, “guess ya hit th’ jackpot, right? fightin’ demons is right up yer alley.”

 

“ _ Don’t.  _ Get me started….” The smaller skeleton groaned. “This is the first field mission I’ve been given in years… and it’s  _ here _ . No offense, really, but your town is  _ so. Boring _ .”

 

The red toned skeleton snickered, “none taken, kid, i get it.”

 

“And to top it off, I’ve got to deal with a racist priest  _ and _ my brother tagging along. Then, I’ve got this weird demon thing going on -”

 

“weird?”

 

“Well, “ Blue huffed, “It started out by mauling someone and eating their SOUL, but hasn’t made a move since. Usually aggressive demons escalate, especially when they consume human SOULs, which are kind of like steroids - “

 

“what if it didn'?” Red interjected.

 

“Didn’t what?” The exorcist paused.

 

“what if th’ demon didn’ eat th’ SOUL?”

 

“... The chances are pretty low, but I don’t see how that would change anything, besides giving me a new suspect. Aggressive demons escalate after attacks.”

 

“Yeah,” A continued, “but… what if it’s a  _ nice _ demon?”

 

… 

 

“Funny, my brother asked the same thing.” Blue mentioned.

 

“And….?” 

 

“I told him that there are no such things as nice demons. Especially not the ones who maim a man, eat his SOUL then leave him for dead to be found in an alley.”

 

… 

 

Quietly, Red responded, “yeah. i guess so.”

 

Blue frowned, “I’m not putting you off, am I? We don’t have to talk about the demon anymore, if you don’t want.”

 

“nah,” Red told him, “‘s all good. murder is kinda th’ thing ya wanna get ta th’ bottom of quick, y’know what i mean?”

 

“I couldn’t agree more!”

 

Red grinned that smile - the one where it felt like everything else was melting away in the wake of how he looked at Blue - and the smaller was instantly captivated again.

 

_ I’m going to miss you, Red. _

 

The thought slipped past his mental barriers before Blue could help it, causing the smile he returned to be sad.

 

None of this could last, after all…

 

Red pulled Blue towards a small building. The lights were still on and there was a sign in the window that proudly declared the establishment open.

 

“sec’nd best place in town,” He began.

 

Before he was grabbed by a large, furry paw, that is, and pulled into the building by a snarling dog-like monster.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two??? weeks of updating in a row????
> 
>  
> 
> what????
> 
> hey!! i'm changing my schedule - it'll still be every other week, but i'm trying to start if off of this week instead due to some ~circumstances~
> 
> leave a comment if you'd like!


	7. puppy love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> still not a date.

 

 

… Blue isn’t proud to admit that he  _ may _ have panicked a little.

 

Thankfully, however, that panic proved to be unfounded when Blue saw the grin on Red’s face, and the annoyed look on the dog’s.

 

The dog monster was a lady, Blue was fairly certain. She was tall - perhaps a bit shorter than Stretch, with fluffy white fur and extremely long eyelashes.

 

“Red!” She barked, “you weird little puppy! I heard what happened! I’ve been worried sick!”

 

Red laughed nervously, squirming to be let go.

 

“s-sorry, ressa, y’know how busy it get’s at th’ bar, y’know?”

 

The tall dog lady ( _ Ressa?) _ let Red go, huffing angrily. “Honestly, after five years of working for me, you couldn’t make time to tell me you were okay?”

 

_ Red, working for her? Didn’t Red work at the bar? _

 

_ What was Ressa talking about? Had Red gotten into a fight? _

 

“ya didn’ need me.” Red shrugged.

 

“The pups missed you. I have half the mind to wake them up right now!”

 

“shucks,” Red psuedo-cursed, sweating, “‘ressa, i gotta guest.”

 

Ressa looked from Red over to Blue, nearly doing a double take. She dropped her angry look and adopted a smile, extending a large paw to Blue.

 

“Excuse me! I didn’t realize Red had decided to be social for once. I’m Dogaressa, co-owner of the cafe.”

 

Blue gave her his best grin and took her paw in his hand, shaking it firmly. She raised a brow, but returned the grip.

 

“My name is Blue!”

 

She lead them inside, where Blue could see the interior of the shop. It was cozy, with lots of pictures on the seats and lots of cushy furniture. Dogaressa was quick to seat them as she talked.

 

“It’s so nice to see Red get out of his shell some.” She mentioned.

 

Red rolled his eye lights.

 

“are ya callin’ me a  _ shell _ -eton?”

 

Both Dogaressa and Blue gave Red disappointed looks. He only laughed at the two, winking. “there’s a  _ shell _ of a lot more where that came from, i  _ shell _ dom pass up ‘n opportunity t’  _ shell _ out my jokes.”

 

_ Okay _ . Blue thought to himself,  _ that was a little impressive _ .

 

The almost-snort he let out seemed to delight Red, the larger’s eye lights twinkling.

 

Dogaressa shook her head and sighed before leaving.

 

“I’ll get you boys a snack.”

 

When she was gone, Blue took another glance around the restaurant.

 

“So,” He started idly, “second best place in town, huh?”

 

Red raised a brow, leaning back in his seat. The position caused some of his shirt to shift, exposing more of his clavicle.

 

_ White bone, with little lines of healed fractures and chips… _

 

_ What had caused Red to lead such a painful life? Surely, this town was safe. _

 

_ But… _

 

_ Red didn’t always live here, did he? _

 

The taller skeleton was like an irresistible puzzle to Blue. Perhaps that’s what kept drawing him in.

 

_ Certainly not that he was attractive, or kind, or  -  _

 

“yeh. th’ dogs ‘re pretty good comp’ny. i used t’ baby sit th’ pups when they was still needin’ lotsa ‘ttention. plus, ‘ressa’s cinna-puppies ‘re th’ fuckin’ bomb dot com.” Red snickered, laughing to himself.

 

Blue couldn’t help but watch fondly - Red was more crass off the job, but it was rather nice, in some sort of intimate way, to get to hear the red toned skeleton talk comfortably.

 

Not to say that Blue was encouraging cursing.

 

But… when Red did it….

 

Well.

 

He could make an exception.

 

Now was not the time to be engaging in small talk, though. This was, again,  _ not a date _ . Nope. It was the furthest thing from a date, in fact. It was a  _ business meeting _ . An interrogation, even. Blue’s sole purpose tonight was to find out more about the murder.

 

It had already been just about two days since Blue had gotten here, and he hadn’t found out a lick of information about the murder. At this point, he was starting to worry if he’d lost his touch.

 

“Let’s get started about the murder. What can you tell me about Thomas?”

 

Red’s friendly attitude seemed to sober up as he blinked.

 

“oh… right… well.” He tapped his clawed phalanges on the table and thought for a second.

 

“real piece o’ scum. bottom o’ th’ barrel shit. a  _ real _ demon, if ya get my drift.”

 

Well. That contradicted what Father Rodger had said quite a bit.

 

“Can you tell me why? Did you See him that night? Did he have any enemies you knew of?” Blue might have been getting ahead of himself with all the questions, but it was refreshing to talk to someone who could actually  _ tell _ him something.

 

Red hummed, “he liked t’ visit th’ bar. He was leavin’ from grillb’z at around the time mah shift ended, a lil’ before.”

 

_ That _ matched up with what Father Thomas had said, at least.

 

Then Red shrugged.

 

“an’ i didn’ see ‘im again. c’n tell ya one thing, though. if yer lookin’ fer enemies, th’ guy had no shortage of ‘em. he wasn’t real keen on hearin’ th’ word  _ no _ .” Red scowled, “kinda’f a sick freak, if ya ask me. ‘e liked th’ bunny girls that came in, cornered ‘em. chased ‘em. had t’ beat him off with a delta damned stick more th’n once.”

 

“Oh.” Blue cleverly articulated.

 

Blue thought back on how Father Rodger had portrayed Thomas - a good man who too often fell to his ‘temptations’. He’d made it sound like the bunnies had been the ones seducing him. 

 

“And none of the… women he went after… they didn’t reciporicate his attraction?”

 

“nope.” Red confirmed.

 

The two of them stewed in silence for a little. Red was looking thoughtfully at Blue while the short skeleton took some time to process the information.

 

_ Thomas had enemies _ .

 

In the monster community, especially.

 

But where did that put the investigation, now?

 

Should he alert the authorities? Was this a murder, and not a demon attack at all?

 

Impossible… the demonic energy…

 

It was  _ unmistakable. _

 

And the SOUL. It had been eaten. But with new information… it’s possible that the SOUL was only stolen.

 

However, it was unlikely… but… monsters could steal SOULs, as well. Especially strong ones that were easy to draw out, like humans’ SOULs.

 

Despite how determined humans were, they weren’t able to control their SOULs at all. They couldn’t draw them out or fight with them. The most they could do is dodge.

 

And it would be consistent with how the demon hadn’t escalated like the one’s he’s seen before had, after consuming determination. 

 

“I… don’t know what to think.” Blue admitted, “this changes quite a bit. I’m unsure of how to proceed.”

 

Red gave Blue a soft look and reached over the table to pat his shoulder.

 

“then don’. take a break. ya’ve only been here two damned days, ain’t nobody ‘xpectin’ ya t’ figure it out so soon.”

 

Blue found himself nodding.

 

Right…

 

Blue… Blue had some time on this assignment. He hadn’t been given a deadline.

 

Maybe what he had to do was play detective for a little bit.

 

He obviously wasn’t getting anywhere as he was going now.

 

The thought of slowing down… of  _ giving up _ , though, even temporarily, was maddening to Blue. Without progress, he felt like a failure.

 

Whether the murder was the work of a demon or not, there was still a demon in this town. Blue had felt it.

 

Which means it was  _ his _ job to get to the bottom of it.

 

Blue slowly nodded his head, “Perhaps you’re right. I need to recooperate my thoughts. Make a new plan of action…”

 

Red grinned, “‘kay, then, just take a break with me right now. no need t’ stress yerself out, right?”

 

“Right. Yes. Let’s talk about you some,” Blue offered.

 

Right then, though, Dogaressa came back out with a plate in her paws.

 

“Eat up, boys. On the house for Red and his little friend.”

 

She put the plate down, and Blue saw two steaming cinnamon buns in the shape of little puppy faces.

 

“thanks, ‘ressa.”

 

She gave Red a matronly look and noogied his skull, “Next time, don’t keep me in the dark! I don’t care if you’re physically unable to walk, I better be getting a phone call.”

 

Blue smiled at Red getting flustered.

 

“Thank you, Dogaressa.”

 

She smiled back, “Of course, Blue. Keep this kid in line, will ya?”

 

The shorter skeleton and the dog shared a laugh as Red pouted. When Dogaressa left again, Red sulked to Blue.

 

“ey. ya didn’ hafta encourage her…”

 

“Sorry,” Blue chuckled, “It’s just so funny to see you all red!”

 

Said color returned to the taller’s cheekbones as he looked at Blue with wide-sockets. He tried to regain his confidence by making an angry face, but he just looked shy.

 

Blue was secretly in awe.

 

_ He didn’t know Red could look like that _ .

 

“yeh, yeh, rub it in…”

 

“Right then. Dogaressa mentioned something happening to you?” Blue inquired, trying to change the topic of conversation.

 

_ He didn’t need anymore stay thoughts of how handsome or cute Red looked right now. _

 

Red’s face turned passive.

 

“‘s nuthin’ t’ get upset ova’.”

 

“ _ She _ certainly seemed worried. I just want to know that you aren’t in any trouble,” Blue told Red earnestly, “Someone like you doesn’t deserve that.”

 

The red toned skeleton blushed pink,

 

_ New, and much cuter than any of his previous reactions _

 

_ … Delta…. Blue needed to stop letting these invasive thoughts getting into his skull… _

 

“jus’ some idiots. thought they could get th’ jump on me. ‘s no biggie.”

 

“You were  _ JUMPED _ ?” Blue asked incredulously.

 

Red cringed, “no biggie. i ain’t nuthin’ t’ sniff at, ya get me?”

 

Blue wanted to slap Red with a sense of self-preservation.

 

“It’s a huge deal! Did you alert any authorities?!”

 

“blue.” Red said seriously. He looked Blue straight in the eye lights as he spoke. “they were jus’ sum idiots from th’ church that like t’ get drunk and harass monsters from time t’ time. ain’t nuthin’ the authorities ‘re gonna do ‘bout it. nobody got hurt. ‘s’all good.”

 

Blue wrinkled his nose.

 

_ The church _ .

 

Something Blue had fought for since he knew he’d wanted to be an exorcist.

 

But Father Rodger seems to be doing a poor job of upholding the virtuous values that had been drilled into Blue since he was a babybones.

 

The Good Goddess was  _ kind _ ,  _ fair _ ,  _ loving _ and  _ accepting _ .

 

“I don’t like that. I don’t like anything about this town.” Blue blurted before he could sensor himself.

 

He paled and rushed to correct himself.

 

“I-I mean… nobody…  _ nobody _ deserves to be treated like that… the church here, the authorities here… how do you  _ live _ like this?”

 

Red was still giving Blue a shocked look.

 

“i, uh……. ya get used to it.” He said finally.

 

_ “How?” _ Blue stressed.

 

Red sighed, and looked away.

 

“mebbe i should tell ya how i ended up here in th’ first place, alright?”

 

Red cleared his throat, still looking away.

 

“i didn’ live with paps ‘r our dad fer a long time. in fact, i guess ya could say i never lived with  _ them _ . i never met paps before five years ago.”

 

Red continued, looking down, “i was in a bad sich. but… paps… wrote me a letter. he said that…  _ dad _ had told him ‘bout me… said that he wan’ned me t’ come here. th’ poor kid was lonely. what was i gonna do? my life sucked, so i packed my bags and came here.”

 

This time, when the taller skeleton began talking, he looked directly at Blue.

 

“an’ i dun’ regret it. not fer a second. paps is a brat, yeah, th’ people here fuckin’ suck, yeah, but th’ monsters here got a good community, an’ they stick tagether. an’ i happen t’ fuckin’ love that little brat. that’s how.”

 

“...”

 

Blue was the first to break away from their shared gaze, looking down to the untouched treats.

 

“I don’t care what you think. You’re a good person, Red.” Blue vowed.

 

Red looked like he was about to reject the statement, but his phone went off.

 

He gave Blue an apologetic look.

 

“i ain’t gonna argue with ya right now… uh… m’ dad’s callin’.”

 

Blue waved Red off, and the larger skeleton walked  a little ways away to talk.

 

The shorter skeleton didn’t  _ try _ to listen in, but he couldn’t help but overhear.

 

“ _ th’ fuck?? _ ”

 

Red hung up abruptly and made his way back to the table.

 

“look, blue, hate t’ cut this short, but sum’un broke a window at th’ springs, an’ i gotta go check it out.”

 

“Oh, I don’t mind!” Blue reassured him, “But, um..”

 

Blue took Red’s hand shortly and gave it a firm squeeze.

 

“Take care of yourself! Someone really cares about you!”

 

Red’s face looked shocked as he let his hand be taken.

 

“u-uh. y-yeh…”

 

Amusingly, Red took a few moments to get out a proper goodbye before he was out the door.

 

… 

 

“He really likes you.” Dogaressa commented from the counter. “Break his heart and you’re dead.”

 

Blue couldn’t even register the threat. He was too flustered over her first comment.

 

_ He can’t… can he? _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)))
> 
> did you guys notice anything odd about red's story?
> 
> ((also, i'm going to start updating weekly on this!! :D))
> 
> leave a comment if you'd like!!


	8. well, since you said it...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue is perfectly willing to leave red alone until someone tells him not to

 

 

As Blue was left alone, he found it fit to take a look around the town.

 

… A little bit of solo investigation. It also left him time to think.

 

The murder.

 

About Red.

 

What is it about that strange skeleton that inspired such a strong _want_ in Blue to figure out more about him?

 

Maybe it was his story. Blue was a people-person. He loved to hear stories from people who’ve traveled, and Red seemed to fit that description to a fault.

Maybe it was the scars. How did he get them? Why didn’t they heal over completely, who gave them to him?

 

Or maybe it was something Blue didn’t want to admit.

 

Maybe he fancied Red’s company beyond business or friendliness.

 

Maybe the way his gaze lingered on the shape of Red’s shoulders or the curve of his spine under his clothes was more than just curiosity about his scars. Maybe there was a desire to see _more_.

 

Blue groaned, holding his face in his hands.

 

Hands that had wielded weapons. Hands that have _killed_.

 

Demons, albeit, but doing something like that…

 

Even if it was for the best, …

 

It left scars on you.

 

And Red didn’t need anymore scars.

 

And Blue didn’t need to be anchored down.

 

Despite any mutual attraction, the best thing to do, _for both of them_ , was for Blue to leave Red alone. The taller had already told Blue everything he knew. There was no place for him in the investigation, anymore, which means that Blue didn’t have any excuse to go out of his way to _talk to_ Red, which means..

 

Their relationship is over.

 

It hurt to admit, _Goddess_ , did it hurt… but it was for the greater good.

 

Blue would go back to doing what he loved, and Red… would go back to living his uninteresting life.

 

 _In a town where he was harrassed regularly, where_ all _the monsters were harrassed regularly, where people like Thomas could do whatever they wanted and nobody would give a damn -_

 

Goddess, Blue needs another _drink_ , since when was this job _stressful_ ,

 

…

 

A loud crash sounded from a nearby alley.

 

Blue was instantly on alert, magic tensing as it coiled around his bones, ready to strike. 

 

He wasn’t too far from where Thomas was attacked, if he remembered correctly.

 

… The demon could still be here, lurking around the scene of the original crime. In all of his haste to get to the bottom of things, Blue had never even _considered_ going back to the scene of the murder, so sure that the demon had moved on. After all, demons weren’t like - 

 

They weren’t like…

 

They weren’t like _humans_ or _monsters_ , who had a tendency to return to their crimes…

 

And come to think of it, Blue didn’t feel any spike in demonic presence.

 

In fact, the only time he’d really consciously felt the thickness of the Presence anymore, it had been in the Springs, or at Grillby’s, and even a little at Dogaressa’s cafe,

 

_Was his theory right?_

 

_Was it really a monster who was behind the murder?_

 

Cautiously, Blue crept close to the wall, inching his way closer to the alley where he originally heard the noise.

 

He lightly turned his head, taking a peek inside the alley.

 

… There was a tall, skinny figure, with a long skull and - 

 

Wait.

 

Was that Stretch?

 

“PAPY??!!” Blue called out, stepping into the alley. He crossed his arms over his chest - _Honestly_ , what did Stretch think he was doing out so late, in an unfamiliar alley, nonetheless?

 

Did he _have_ a death wish?

 

There was a demon on the loose, for Harvest sake!

 

… Except...

 

The figure turned, and Blue very quickly realized that this was _not_ Stretch.

 

The skeleton stranger, for one, was quite a bit taller.

 

For second, this skeleton was…

 

 _Sharper_.

 

With jagged teeth, sharp cheekbones, and terribly tacky clothing that was all black with random chains added onto his boots and jeans.

 

… His left eye socket had three large scars, tinged with red, like they were fresh, going through it.

 

It looked painful.

 

The stranger had turned abruptly, like he was surprised by the presence of another monster. His bright red eye lights looked Blue up and down before he spoke.

 

“GO AWAY, RED! I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU RIGHT NOW!”

 

Oh…

 

This stranger thought Blue was Red?

 

Then, this must be, oh, well, that made sense  - 

 

“Edge?”

 

“GO AWAY, SA - “

 

“I’m not your brother,” Blue interrupted, “but I do know him. And I know he’s rather worried about you.”

 

Edge paused, giving Blue another once-over.

 

“AHEM.” He cleared his throat. “I KNEW THAT. I WAS… SIMPLY TESTING TO SEE IF _YOU_ KNEW THAT!”

 

“Right, sure,” Blue responded, amused. “Would you like to take a walk with me?”

 

Edge stared Blue down, scowling. He tapped his heavy boot against the dirty concrete flooring of the alley and considered Blue’s words.

 

“WHY SHOULD I GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU, WHELP?”

 

 _Harsh_.

 

But Blue had an ace up his sleeve.

 

“Your dad wants to talk to you.”

 

The edgy skeleton practically froze at that, going stiff.

 

“...”

 

“FINE…” He reluctantly relented, striding out of the alley. Under the light of the nearby streetlamp, Edge was much less intimidating.

 

It was kind of obvious he was a teenager stuck in his edgy phase; his distal phalanges were painted black, his outfit was impractical and he moved awkwardly, like he wasn’t used to his own gangly legs.

 

“So,” Blue started once Edge stood by his side, “I heard that you haven’t been home in a few days.”

 

“NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.”

 

“Well, Red - “

 

Edge stomped his foot, “DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A _FUCK_ ABOUT WHAT ‘RED’ THINKS??? HE DOESN’T CONTROL ME!”

 

 _Oooookay,_ Blue thought to himself, _Serious authority issues…._

 

The small skeleton sighed, starting to walk. Thankfully, Edge followed him, despite his little fit.

 

“It’s still not right to make your family worry about you.”

 

The tall skeleton gave Blue an odd look.

 

“HOW IN ASGORE’S NAME DO YOU EVEN KNOW RED? I HAVEN’T SEEN YOU BEFORE.” Edge gave Blue a scrutinizing look, wrinkling his nasal ridge, “LET ME GUESS. YOU’RE ONE OF HIS _LAYS_. YOU LOOK ABOUT HIS TYPE.”

 

Blue blushed, unable to deny the accusation as Edge continued on.

 

“DID HE TELL YOU ABOUT ME AFTER? HMM? A LITTLE BIT OF MEANINGLESS PILLOW TALK AND NOW YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACT LIKE MY GUARDIAN?”

 

Edge smirked, “DID HE TELL YOU YOU’RE _SPECIAL_ ?” He snickered, “OR MAYBE THAT HE FEELS _DIFFERENT_ WITH YOU?”

 

Getting rather offended, Blue stopped Edge before he could levy another thinly veiled insult at him.

 

“Listen here, Edge, I don’t know what you have against me, or for Harvest’s sake, _your brother_ , but your attitude is unacceptable,”

 

“WHAT’S UNACCEPTABLE IS SOME PATHETIC, SHORT SKELETON TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!”

 

Blue grit his teeth, fighting back the urge to take some ‘disciplinary action’ against Red’s younger brother.

 

“Your brother is at home right now, WORRIED SICK, and I don’t even know why!” Blue snarled at Edge, “You’re a brat! A jerk! To think, I almost felt _bad_ for you!”

 

Edge seemed to flounder at that, unsure of how to react to being called out on his bullshit.

 

“And what’s more, you’re out here rummaging through alleys, without any care for your own safety!”

 

“I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!” Edge retorted, sounding more like a petulant child than he did before. Blue gained confidence, realizing that the tall skeleton’s bark was worse than his bite.

 

“That’s not what your eye socket says,” Blue mentioned, motioning towards Edge’s injury.

 

The tall skelton’s hand came up to cover the scars. He snarled right back at Blue.

 

“FUCK OFF! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME _OR_ RED! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, ANYWAYS?”

 

“ _I’m_ the one who’s going to catch the demon!” Blue vowed.

 

Edge went stil again.

 

His scowl melted away, and Blue was left with an almost unreadable cold look on the other’s face.

 

“Oh. So _You’re_ The Exorcist.”

 

“I am.” Blue said.

 

“I Don’t Have Much To Say To You, Then.” Edge continued, tapping his foot once again, “Except _Stay Away_ From Red.”

 

Slightly taken aback, Blue gave Edge an afronted look.

 

“And you’re saying this with _what_ authority, exactly?”

 

“I’m His Brother.” Edge said bluntly. “I Think I Know Better Than You What’s Good For Him.”

 

… And the worst thing was, Edge was right.

 

Not only had he known Red for longer, he was _Red’s_ _brother_. And he was only confirming what Blue had told himself.

 

But.

 

 _Edge_ shouldn’t have any say about who Red could and couldn’t see. Red was an adult. Except, when Blue relayed this to Edge, the taller skeleton only scoffed.

 

“Trust Me, Blue Whelp! If You Cared About Red At All, You’d Give Up This Silly Investigation And Go Right Back Where You Came From!”

 

“That’s for Red to decide, I believe.” Blue replied, feeling insulted. Not only from this bratty skeleton trying to tell him what to do, but also the fact that the skeleton was making decisions for Red without the older’s consent. 

 

“...Red Doesn’t Know What’s Best For Himself.”

 

“And what makes you think you know any better?”

 

“BECAUSE!” The tall skeleton exploded, “BECAUSE I _DO_! DO YOU THINK IT’S A COINCIDENCE THAT RED, OF ALL MONSTERS, GETS TARGETED SO OFTEN? DID HE TELL YOU THAT?”

 

No. Red did not.

 

But Red _had_ admitted to getting jumped, but it this was something regular…

 

“IT’S BECAUSE HE’S DIFFERENT! AND HE DOESN’T NEED LEECHES LIKE YOU HANGING OFF OF HIM! SO FUCK OFF, THIS TOWN DOESN’T NEED YOU, I DON’T NEED YOU, AND _RED DOESN’T NEED YOU!_ ”

 

The edgy skeleton promptly stormed off into the night, stomping into another dark alley.

 

… There was certainly something going on _there_.

 

It wasn’t any of Blue’s business, obviously, but… he could at least be worried about the well-being of a friend, right?

 

Maybe he should check in on Red, as a few more questions… with the social climate, it could be difficult to try and get some help, but Blue had a few ‘ways’ to help. Perhaps he should teach Red self-defense…?

 

And Edge.

 

For all of his yelling and stomping, the skeleton was still a kid. He was probably angry and scared…

 

Didn’t Red say that he’d been gone for a ‘few days’ or so…? Right around the time Red had been attacked, probably...

 

….

 

_“he’s angry at me right now fer… uh… buttin’ in. he ain’t been home in a few days.”_

 

….

 

Butting in… butting in…

 

Could Edge be… involved…?

 

This… warranted investigation.

 

Blue’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

… Right… After he answered his phone. Who could be calling him this late?

 

Opening the phone, Blue saw the caller ID.

 

_TallLazyBrother_

 

Blue’s magic buzzed anxiously in his bones. Had something happened to Stretch?

 

… Delta… He should have told that tall bastard to stay in…

 

“bro?” Stretch’s quivering voice came from the receiver, not a second after Ble accepted the call.

 

“Are you alright?” Blue spoke quickly, “Do you need any help, where are you? What happened?”

 

“um, it’s… well..”

 

“Stretch.” Blue said firmly, “Are you in trouble?”

 

“kinda… you see, um… windows… they’re made of glass, right?”

 

“... Yes…?” Blue had… no idea where this was going.

 

“and, um, glass, it’s uh, it’s easily breakable, right?”

 

“Yesss?”

 

“well, um, i kinda. broke. some glass.”

 

“Did you step in it?”

 

“no, but, um… it’s, uh… your boyfriend’s here?? and his dad?? they, uh… they want to talk to you…”

 

“One, Red is _not_ my boyfriend, and two - “

 

Blue thought back to what Red had said on their date, why Red had to leave, the little curses he'd mumbled as he left, annoyed, because  _someone_ had broken a - 

 

Because someone had broken a...

 

Someone had broken a window. A window. Which, yes, was made out of glass. And probably fragile. 

 

He groaned.

 

“I’ll… I’ll be right there, Papy…”

 

“are you mad?” Stretch’s voice wobbled.

 

Blue sighed.

 

“No. Papy, no I’m not.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blue: sigh. we're from different worlds, we could never be together, i'll have to let him go - 
> 
> edge: stay away from my brother
> 
> blue: bitch, i'll fucking marry him right here
> 
>  
> 
> hi :DD!!!! leave a comment if you'd like!!


	9. too many emotions and also a lot of guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah... blue says something he wishes he didn't...

 

 

After Edge’s dramatic depart, Blue hastily walked back to the Springs.

 

He had been honest when he had told Stretch that he wasn’t angry - far from it, really. Blue knew he should have probably expected something like this to happen. Stretch was by nature clumsy, and he didn’t often think about the consequences of his actions.

 

Again, Blue didn’t hold this against the younger brother. Stretch was hardly an adult, and Blue could admit that he and their father might have spoiled the tall skeleton somewhat.

 

Before their father had died, of course.

 

That had been so long ago, though - Stretch couldn’t have been any more than seven when it happened. And their father had been absent most of the time, anyways - not for lack of trying.

 

The labs had simply kept him busy.

 

So Stretch didn’t have any sort of sense of tragedy or consequence in his life, so far. He’d been ushered straight into elite-level schooling, had lived in a decent house with no threat to its income…

 

Blue was more proud than anything, that he was able to provide a sheltered environment for his brother to grow up in.

 

So, of course, he had to take some of the fault for this incident onto himself…

 

Stretch was waiting outside of the Springs when Blue arrived, pacing and looking nervous. His skull shot up when he heard Blue’s approaching footsteps.

 

“i-it’s, uh, i can explain - “

 

“I don’t need an explanation, Stretch. It was an accident, right?” Blue said gently, mindful of Stretch’s anxiety.

 

“uh, yeah, it was… it was an accident, i was being dumb… bad ‘port…” The taller mumbled.

 

“Like I said, Papy, I’m not angry. We’ll just have a talk with Red and the owner and everything will be fine, right?”

 

“r-right…”

 

Stretch followed Blue inside, but soon took the lead to show him where the window was.

 

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be a rather large window, but it was shattered beyond repair. Blue guessed it would need fairly immediate replacing.

 

Standing  _ beside _ the window, however, was Red and someone Blue didn’t recognize.

 

_ Must be the owner of the Springs, _ he thought,  _ Red’s father.. _

 

Well… he could definitely see how  _ Edge _ was related to the giant skeleton. The Springs’ owner was probably over seven feet tall - taller than even Blue’s late dad.

 

Red seemed to be the only one that didn’t fit - although Blue could say the same thing about himself.

 

Strangely, though, both seemed rather tense as they quietly conversed. Blue knew he  _ shouldn’t _ , but he simply couldn’t help himself from listening in. Plus, it was  _ probably _ about the window, which Blue has here for,  _ anyways _ …

 

“... fuck off,  _ boss _ …” Red grumbled.

 

“Oh, do be quiet - you’re not here on  _ my _ terms, anymore, you know - “

 

“yeah, but’cher still the same - “

 

Almost eerily, they both halted their conversation when Stretch and Blue arrived, looking straight at them, faces passive.

 

_ Blue couldn’t make sense of what they were saying - was Red referring to how technically his father was his boss, since he owned the Springs? Or was it something else, and on whose ‘terms’ was Red - ? _

 

“Excuse me,” The taller said politely, clearing his throat. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I apologize for not greeting you upon your arrival. You may refer to me as Wing.”

 

He stuck out a large, scarred hand, to Blue to shake. Blue accepted the hand, trying his best to give a good first impression.

 

“Blue. Thank you for letting us stay here, and I’m sorry about your window - I’m willing to pay for damages...?”

 

Wing chuckled, shaking his head amicably, “No need, Blue, you’re here on the Priest’s dime. I’ll simply add it to the tab.”

 

_ Oh dear… _ Blue internally groaned,  _ now he felt bad… _

 

But did he really? The priest was kind of a terrible excuse for a human being…

 

Hm…

 

Still… The Good Goddess would want him to take the high road here…

 

“I couldn’t ask of that him or the church. If you’re not willing to accept payment from me, would you allow me to fix the window myself?”

 

Wing blinked down at Blue, surprised.

 

His (creepy) grin widened as he looked down at the short skeleton.

 

“I have to give it to you - It seems you’re just as honorable as a man fitting of your profession.” He chuckled again, looking down towards Red, who glared back and looked away. “Very well. I’ll have my  _ son _ fetch you a replacement pane tomorrow, if you’re available to fix it then?”

 

“Of… course, sir…” Blue replied, attention focused on the  _ very _ disgruntled Red.

 

“Well then.” Wing finalized, “have a nice night. I have some business to attend to.”

 

The tall skeleton then slinked away, his unnatural gate drawing Blue’s gaze.

 

… It seemed as if his left leg had been injured some time ago…?

 

Maybe their entire family was just one giant enigma… from Red, the mysterious, handsome bartender to Edge, the edgy, elusive teenager, and finally their father - a tall, dark, eerie man who smiled too wide.

 

…

 

But he had to focus on his task - he wasn’t here to look into a strange skeleton family, he was here to look into a murder.

 

Which brought him back to Edge.

 

As much as Blue found it unlikely, the skeleton was literally rummaging around at midnight in an alley not a hundred feet from the murder… looking for something...

 

“I saw your brother.” Blue blurted, once Wing was out of sight.

 

Red looked up and gave Blue a confused look, “yeh, where?”

 

Stretch, leaning up against the wall next to the broken window, rolled his skull to face Blue and Red, probably listening in. Blue didn’t mind, after that little scare, he’d prefer to keep Stretch within in his sights.

 

“He was… rummaging around in an alley? Do you… think he’s okay? I can probably find him again, if I try.” 

 

Red shook his skull, pulling out his phone.

 

“think i know what he’s doin’, dun’ mind him. he, uh, he sent me a message yest’rday tellin’ me where he was stayin’.” Red showed Blue the conversation, where Edge had typed a brief and polite message stating that he was staying with a friend and that Red shouldn’t come looking for him…

 

… or ‘Take Matters Into Your Own Hands’....

 

“That’s… good. But,” Blue stopped.

 

Should he tell Red? It’s not like anyone wants to hear from a relative stranger  _ (who they’d gone on a date with not a few hours ago)  _ that their sixteen year old brother is now the biggest suspect in a murder.

 

_ Really _ ? Blue thought to himself - it was crazy. Edge was  _ sixteen _ . And Blue was literally pinning him with  _ murder _ ,  _ already _ .

 

He felt like Father Rodger. Quick to accuse. 

 

But Blue had been in the field for awhile… and it wouldn’t be the first time a kid had stirred up trouble of this magnitude...

 

“blue,” Red said softly, throwing an arm around Blue’s shoulders and pulling him closer. “get sum rest, yer tired. wha’did i say, huh? give yerself a fuckin’ break.”

 

Blue shrugged the arm off as he looked Red in the eye lights, gathering resolve.

 

“No, Red, this is important… I think your brother was involved in the murder.”

 

The eye lights Blue was looking into promptly disappeared from Red’s sockets, leaving the slightly taller skeleton looking… empty.

 

Stretch coughed, wheezing after.

 

“ _ holy shit, bro - “ _

 

“n-no, edge didn’ have nuthin’ t’do with it, m’kay?” Red told Blue, sounding desperate.

 

“I’m not saying Edge killed Thomas himself,” Blue said softly, “I think he summoned a demon.”

 

It would make sense.

 

It was Blue’s theory from the very beginning, for Harvest’s sake - troubled youth were notorious for trying to summon demons.

 

Edge fit the description, and so did the crime.

 

That’s not to say that he did it alone - he could have had help. And as for the demon itself, well, Edge couldn’t be held responsible for the actions of a base, SOULless being. At most, Edge would receive a warning - he’s still fairly young.

 

Red barked out a laugh, eye lights still out. Standing seemed to be too much for the moment, as he squat down, breathing heavily, covering his eye sockets with his hands.

 

“sh-shit…”

 

Blue joined Red, wrapping  _ his _ arm around the scarred skeleton. 

 

“Red.” He said, “He won’t get in trouble… I just need you to help me with something...”

 

Red took a deep breath in, nodding his head.

 

“y-yeah?”

 

“I need you to tell me the truth. I need to know what happened last week. And I need to know more about Edge.”

 

The red toned skeleton shook his head, “i-i can’t, ya dun’ understand, blue, blue, you dun’ understand - y-ya dun’...”

 

Blue felt  _ terrible _ .

 

_ How could he do this to Red? _

 

He hadn’t wanted to be right - but the proof was in Red’s reaction. 

 

Edge was definitely involved.

 

_ Red just wanted to protect him _ .

 

Blue needed Red to see that Edge wouldn’t be punished - he needed his help in finding the demon, to send it right back where it belongs.

 

… But that might take awhile.

 

He needed to… save face with Red. he needed to get Red to trust him again. To  _ want _ to tell him.

 

It made Blue sick to his stomach, but he needed to, essentially,  _ manipulate _ Red into giving him the information he  wanted needed.

 

His SOUL pounded painfully behind his rib cage, in distress at the prospect of hurting Red anymore. He didn’t have a choice, though… this was his job.

 

Edge was right.

 

_ He needed to stay away from Red. _

 

But he couldn’t.

 

Red was… too involved.

 

Red had devolved back into shaking, still crouched down, bones rattling. Blue’s magic reacted by chilling his bones. He was… almost numb… except for his SOUL.

 

It was obvious that Blue wasn’t doing anything to calm the taller skeleton down, anymore. And that just made his SOUL hurt even  _ more _ .

 

It was at this point that Stretch stepped in. He gently pulled Blue away from Red.

 

“I think, uh, i’ll take it from here…”

 

Blue nodded as he was taken away from Red, ache in his chest only growing.

 

Stretch easily scooped Red up into his arms.

 

_ (Blue vaguely noted that his training at the academy must have worked, at least a little.) _

 

_ (He tried not to listen to Red’s babbling, which had turned into a litany of pleas, the words ‘boss’ and ‘sorry’ falling from his mouth.) _

 

“Do you… know where his room is?” Blue asked, sounding far too calm for the raging battle of emotions that was occuring in his SOUL.

 

“think i can find it.” Stretch shrugged.

 

Blue nodded.

 

He…

 

Fuck.

 

He needed a drink.

 

_ Why was everything so difficult, this time around? Blue had never had this problem. _

 

….

 

While the urge to go back to Grillby’s and order something heavy was strong, he resisted. Blue instead went back to him and Stretch’s room, and sat down on his bed.

 

To think.

 

The night had started so innocently…

 

He…

 

Blue shouldn’t have gotten too involved.

 

He’d let himself hope, let himself  _ like _ Red beyond what he knew he  _ should _ have, and it had ended up with him getting concerned about Edge, and Edge accidentally and unknowingly spilling the proverbial beans, and now Red was…

 

The blue toned skeleton groaned, flopping back onto his bed.

 

… He didn’t want to do anything for the rest of the night.

 

He didn’t want to do anything for the rest of the  _ week _ . He was emotionally and physically exhausted.

 

But he had to fix a window tomorrow, and Red would be helping…

 

Maybe he can ask Red more tomorrow.

 

He would  _ have to _ . 

 

For the first time in a long time… Blue found that he really didn’t enjoy his job as he thought he did.

 

It used to be fun.

 

It used to be just catching demons, sending them back to Fell…

 

How had he gotten caught up in the drama of a small village? How had he gotten caught up with  _ feelings _ _ an attraction _ for said’s small village’s monster bartender?

 

How had he drawn the conclusion that said monster bar tender’s  _ teenage brother _ had summoned a demon?

 

But things never go the way they’re supposed to, Blue supposed.

 

Especially when creatures like demons are involved.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> red: i've done a good job of distracting the exorcist, there's no way he'll /ever/ figure out exactly what's going on - 
> 
> blue: i think your brother summoned a demon and also i think you know about it
> 
> red: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
> 
> edge: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
> 
> wing: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck


	10. damn it, blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue fucks up, but somehow it fixes things???
> 
> also, edge and red are shady bitches

 

 

The morning is deceptively bright.

 

For a few minutes, Blue doesn’t even remember what happened last night.

 

 _Thankfully,_ his ever-helpful brother is happy to remind him.

 

“the edgelord’s been standing outside for the past half hour waiting for you.” Stretch tells Blue when he wakes up.

 

And doesn’t _that_ say something - Blue is so messed up that _Stretch_ was waking up before him, reminding him of things.

 

… It probably makes Blue grumpier than he should really be.

 

“I’m sure Red will be delighted to hear your thoughts on his appearance.” Blue snarks, sitting up and riffling through his suitcase to get another outfit out. This one is just like the majority of what he’d packed - all black, tight enough to keep the clothing to his bones, but not tight enough to restrict movement.

 

Typical field-wear.

 

“oh, it’s not red.” Stretch snickers, “although i haven’t seen him around. guess you scared him real good, huh? what did you ask him about, marriage?”

 

Blue sends a scathing look to Stretch.

 

Whom is at least decent enough to look sorry.

 

“hey, i get it, bro. not everybody’s going to take demon shit well, you know? just focus on the job. business trip and all, right?”

 

Blue’s look melts into a weary grin. How can he be mad at his baby-bones of a taller sibling?

 

“Yes, Papy… business trip…”

 

Stretch opens his arms up for a hug which Blue accepts.

 

“Sorry for being such a… such a _spoil sport._ ” Blue sighs, “This job has me all kinds of messed up! I guess I’m a little rusty, after all…”

 

The taller skeleton chuckles, patting Blue’s back.

 

“no worries. i’m feeling it, too. you notice the presence? it’s all moody now, i think the demon knows we’re onto it.”

 

Blue pulls away for a moment to gauge the intent of the demonic presence, and Stretch is _right._

 

It's… _sullen_.

 

“Mweh!” Blue laughs, “At least it knows to cower in the presence of the Magnificent Blue!”

 

That gets a laugh out of the two brothers.

 

“alright, magnificent blueberry. best get dressed or edgy-mc-my-chemical-romance out there might just skewer you.”

 

“Let me guess,” Blue starts, “Tall, gangly, chains?”

 

Stretched guffaws out a laugh, “how did you know, bro?”

 

“Call it my supreme exorcist intuition. That’s Red’s younger brother.” Blue explains, taking his clothes into the bathroom to change. “We met last night in an alley!” He adds helpfully.

 

“he sure looks the type.” Stretch snorts, “i think he was ready to kill me when i asked if his jeans came pre-ripped or if he did that himself.”

 

 _“Papy!”_ Blue scolds from the bathroom, trying not to laugh. It's funny but _horrible_.

 

… The hilarity wins out in the end, though, because Blue can’t help the chuckles that escape him.

 

When blue emerges from the bathroom, it looks like Stretch has gotten ready, as well. Blue quirks a brow bone, looking him over.

 

“Are you going to help me today?” He asks.

 

Stretch laughs sheepishly, “nah, bro. i’m heading out.”

 

“I see.” Blue says, “What _is it_ that you do all day while I’m working? Staying out of trouble, I presume?”

 

Stretch salutes Blue with a half-grin.

 

“you know it, bro. there’s a cafe on the other side with wifi that _actually_ works.”

 

“Hurrah.” Blue praises monotonously, “As long as there’s no more broken windows, I’m fine with it.”

 

The taller skeleton blushes and looks down sheepishly.

 

“gotcha, bro. one time thing.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

Blue gives Stretch an affectionate pat on the elbow before heading out into the halls of the Springs, coming face to face with Edge in a matter of seconds.

 

Cut that - it's less than a second. The tall skeleton is standing directly outside of Blue’s room, arms crossed and foot tapping.

 

“Edge!” Blue greets jovially, “What a nice surprise. I didn’t think you’d be coming home so early.”

 

The tall skeleton scoffs.

 

“I Wasn’t Planning To. Until I Got A Panicked Call From Red Explaining To Me… What You Said…”

 

Wow. Blue isn’t sure if he should feel insulted by Edge’s bluntness, but it's nice to talk to someone completely straightforward for once. No weird bias or hidden agendas or vague stories.

 

“You summoned a demon.” Blue tells him, starting to walk to where he knew the broken window was. Edge falls into line slightly behind him, carrying a large pane of glass Blue assumed to be the replacement for the one Stretch had broken.

 

“Yes.” Edge affirms shortly, offering no further information.

 

“Where is it?”

 

Blue identifies a step-ladder and some tools by the broken window, and goes about setting up his little work station for the day. It shouldn’t take that long, really. Right now, what Blue is more invested in is getting answers from Edge.

 

Really, anybody would do at this point. Blue's tired of all the hidden meanings and egg shells that everybody else apparently knows to skirt around.

 

“None Of Your Business.” Edge bites out.

 

“I think you’ll find that as an exorcist, demons _are_ my business!” Blue jokes.

 

… Edge stays silent, though. As Blue gets to work removing the boards that had been used to cover the window the night prior and removes shards of glass from the area, he can feel Edge’s piercing stare on his back.

 

It's only after the glass is clear of the foundation that Edge responds.

 

“I Told You To Stay Away From Red.”

 

Blue almost lets his surprise at the change in conversation topic show, but he saves it at the last moment by turning his face away from Edge.

 

“And?” Blue sayes tersely.

 

“And. Look At What You Did. You Ruined _Everything._ ”

 

“That’s a little radical,” Blue replies breezily. “I wouldn’t go as far to say _everything_.”

 

Blue can _hear_ Edge gritting his sharp teeth.

 

“Look,” Blue continues, “I’m here to _help_ . The entire town - Red and your father - they’re going to benefit from me eliminating the demon. They’re going to be _safer_. Don’t you want them to be safe?”

 

Edge is silent.

 

“The Safest Place For Us Is Far Away From You.” He says quietly.

 

The short skeleton sighs.

 

This whole ordeal with Red’s family is getting to be tiring. He feels like there was some big secret everyone except him is privy to. And, in a way, that's the truth. They all know about the demon.

 

Every single one of them - Red included - has basically played Blue for a fool.

 

That _hurts_ , and Blue would have let the hurt run it’s course did he not know that, in this type of situation, he probably would do something similar.

 

And the fact that this is a business trip and nothing more. He can't take anything personally - it's been Blue’s own fault for getting to involved with Red, and now they're both suffering with an acute case of broken heart syndrome.

 

“I hope you at least have a tight leash on the demon,” Blue tells Edge, “Because they’ve been known to turn on the ones who summon them and consume their SOUL in order to gain power and leave Fell permanently.”

 

For _some reason_ , Edge actually laughs. A short, wheezy sort of laugh, choked like Edge doesn’t want to give Blue the satisfaction, but a laugh all the same.

 

Blue feels the corner of his own permanent grin quirk up slightly at the sound, unbidden. Disappointed as he is with Edge, Blue is _also_ still an older brother. It's in his nature to entertain and get a laugh out of the people around him. Even if he doesn’t resort to _puns_ and other hideous low-end forms of comedy.

 

“Ah - I Don’t Think I Need To Be Concerned About That.”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“Yes,” Edge snickers, “My Demon Is _Domesticated._ ”

 

There's something off about how Edge said that last word, like it's hilarious. Blue can’t really fathom why, but to each their own. 

 

_Maybe it could even be a clue…?_

 

“Did you put a collar on it?” Blue asks, amusement present in his voice. Maybe if he goes along with the joke, Edge will slowly reveal more clues to him.

 

For one, it seems as if Edge is fairly comfortable with the demon, enough to leave it unattended and even refer to it as _domesticated_.

 

“I Wouldn’t - I…” Edge goes back to being silent, gangly arms crossing over his rib cage.

 

Slightly concerned over the abrupt shift in mood, Blue turns swiftly, forgetting that he's on a step ladder and has, in fact, picked up a large pane of glass only a moment prior. In one terrifying second, he realizes that he's about to fall onto a bed of broken glass. Holding a larger sheet of glass under him that is just as viable to shatter everywhere.

 

Like a cat, Blue twists his body to land on his back in order to avoid maximum damage, but finds that now, he's holding the glass _above_ him, poised to crush himself.

 

Thankfully, Edge is able to swoop in and snatch the glass from Blue before it can turn him into a work of modern art. However, he's unable to stop Blue’s fall.

 

And thus, Blue falls into a pit of glass.

 

“ _Delta!”_ He exclaims, feeling little bits of it crunch between his bones.

 

Blue suddenly feels woozy, and realizes that he's probably loosing a lot of marrow, if the way his shirt suddenly feels sticky has anything to do with it.

 

Edge looks down at Blue in shock.

 

“FUCK.”

 

Blue could have been looking up at Edge for hours or minutes, but next thing he knows, Red’s face also comes into view, pale and angry.

 

“again, papyrus??” He hears the slightly taller red toned skeleton exclaim, moving to pull Blue up.

 

Blue grasps at Red’s humeri as he's hauled up, trying to garble something. Honestly, not even _he_ knows what it is - his vision is too busy going in and out for him to pay attention to the words tumbling out of his mouth.

  
  


Suddenly, his grip gives out, and Red struggles to hold Blue’s now limp body. He faintly registers being pulled up against Red’s rib cage, feeling the calming and oh-so familiar hum of something decidedly _sullen_.

 

“IT WASN’T ME THIS TIME!! HE DID IT TO HIMSELF - HE TURNED…. FAST… COLLAR!”

 

Next thing Blue knows, his vision is completely blacked out, and so is he.

 

… 

..

.

 

When Blue wakes up, it's to dim lighting and warmth.

 

He can feel a presence at his side, and it is confirmed to be none other than _Red_ , when he hears the other affectionately murmur something he can’t catch.

 

“R-Red?” He calls out, weakly shuffling to sit up against the massive mound of pillows that Red seemed to have outfited the bed with.

 

Actually… This doesn’t seem to be Blue’s bed…

 

Is this… Red’s room?

 

“shh…” The red toned skeleton replies gently, pushing Blue back down into a laying position. “ya took a nasty fall there, sweetheart.”

 

“I’m, I’m fine…” Blue tells Red, moving to sit up again despite Red’s coaxing to do otherwise. “Trust me, I’ve had worse.”

 

“that dun’ make me feel better, sweetheart. at least drink sum water.”

 

Blue nods, taking the glass Red offers him. As he drinks, he takes in his surroundings.

 

It's  _definitely_ not his room, the walls are painted with a dark cherry color, and the lights are on, but they seemed to be far dimmer than what Blue is used to.

 

Maybe Red is sensitive to light? He’s never seen the other in full daylight before…

 

“Are we… in your room?” Blue asks, handing Red the glass back. Said skeleton nods as he put the water on a nightstand.

 

“took ya back here ‘cause i didn’ have the keys ta yer place and wings woulda killed me if i busted in.”

 

“... Thanks…”

 

Red shrugs.

 

An awkward silence fills the room.

 

In an attempt to make amends for the previous day, Blue starts to speak, only to halt when Red has the same idea.

 

“You go first.” Blue insists.

 

“... heh… um… ‘m sorry ‘bout yesterday.” Red says shyly, looking away. “i, uh,.... i overreacted. i can’ tell ya ‘bout the demon… that’s… well, edge said so.”

 

Blue furrows his brow bones.

 

“You don’t have to listen to what he says, Red, you’re an adult.”

 

Red shrugs again.

 

“i trust ‘em t’ do th’ right thing. he stopped me from makin’ a stupid decision yesterday, i guess… but it looks like he’s back on his bullshit.”

 

Blue cracks a smile.

 

“That’s one way to put it.”

 

The shorter skeleton is delighted when Red smiles back.

 

“Red.” Blue catches Red’s hands in his own, forcing the taller to look at him in the eye sockets. It has the intended effect, as Red seems unable to look away.

 

Or maybe that's just Blue?

 

Delta… it's only been a few hours since he declared that this was officially a business trip again… but Red has a habit of changing up Blue’s plans…

 

“I’m sorry about yesterday. The way I phrased it… I get it. I’m here for however long it takes, alright? Don’t feel pressured to rat your brother out or anything. Even if that WOULD be supremely helpful!”

 

Red snorts, looking almost sad. He pulls his hands from Blue’s, finally breaking their eye-light contact.

 

“dun’ suppose ya can stay ferever…?”

 

Blue’s SOUL stutters in his rib cage.

 

Is that… an invitation…?

 

Oh… Delta… Blue knows his face must be the color of an _actual_ blueberry at this point. Hoping in vain that Red won't notice, Blue blurts out a string of words to try and distract him.

 

“HOT SPRINGS!! We’re… this is is… this is a hot springs!” Blue exclaims.

 

“... uh… yeah?” Red responds, confused.

 

“And hot springs are notorious for healing! I’m sure… I’m sure I’ll be right back up again tomorrow after a relaxing soak!”

 

“t-tagether?!” Red yelps.

 

Well. Blue had certainly not originally thought of it that way, but why not? It’s not like he has budding feelings he would rather not mention for the skeleton in front of him.

 

It’s not like Blue would combust with only the _thought_ of what Red’s rib cage might look like underneath his clothing.

 

 _It’s not like sometimes Blue had imagined, vividly, unbuttoning Red’s work uniform slowly, watching as the skeleton’s face became his namesake, stuttering and shyly asking for blue to go_ faster _-_

 

"w-well... uh...." Red mumbles slightly, "we... can." Blue slumps in relief, having thought taht Red would think him a creep. "but tomorrow. it's late an' your cuts ain't closed up yet."

 

“SURE!!”

 

Good Goddess… what has Blue gotten himself into, this time…?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i didn't update last week!! my schedule was unexpectedly busy, and i didn't get around to writing the chapters. thanks for being patient ^^!
> 
> also ~~ are you ready for the hot springs??? finally??? after ten chapters of them staying in a hot springs without any /steamy/ action??? ;)
> 
> leave a comment if you'd like!


	11. naked?? and in a pool??? at this point it's just cruel.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue decides to test out the healing properties of the spring.
> 
> red is a good guide and shows blue a cool place.

 

 

The next afternoon, after Blue convinced him that _yes_ , he was fine and _yes_ his cuts had closed up properly overnight, Red had lead Blue to the changing rooms, after which Blue had to _also_ confirm that _yes_ , he really _did_ want to soak in the hot springs, and… _yes…_ that he was fine with Red being there…

 

In all, offering to basically bathe with the one who Blue was trying to _get over_ was not his smartest move, but it was one that his SOUL couldn’t bear to pass up.

 

Blue was informed by the tour guide on his first day here that the hot springs were not the… _clothed_ sort, meaning that he was going to be _very_ close to Red soon, _very_ naked.

 

And, of course, there was nothing so scandalous about bare bones!

 

Living so closely with humans, and what they were, Blue had seen dozens upon dozens of bare skeletons before, both in ‘spooky’ decorations and in classrooms.

 

Blue had little doubt that it was the same for Red - so _really_ , he shouldn’t be as blue in the face as he was.

 

_Nor should his SOUL be glowing so much!!_

 

Embarrassing as it was that his SOUL had manifested itself in his rib cage, it was on a whole new level that it was glowing brightly! It was like a slap in the face - a slap that would tell Red and any other monster that happened to see him that Blue was _very_ excited for what was to come!

 

He sat in the changing room in his lonesome for a few minutes just trying to get his SOUL to go back to being non-visible.

 

Blue really couldn’t trick himself into thinking that the feelings he had for Red didn’t go beyond friendliness. Not anymore, at least.

 

… He couldn’t help the embarrassing squeak that left his mouth when Red knocked on his stall door, bare feet visible in the space between the floor and the bottom of the door. “S-STILL GETTING READY!” Blue exclaimed, wrapping the fluffy white robe that had been provided tighter around his bare bones.

 

Y’know. Even though Red couldn’t really even see him.

 

_Stars._ Blue was a mess.

 

“o-oh.” Red responded, “i, um, jus’ wan’ned to let’cha know that the springs are ready… an’... um… s-so am i??”

 

Blue felt his cheekbones heat further at the slightly suggestive wording. _For Harvest’s sake! This is why I can’t go out…_

 

“Y-YEAH??”

 

“um. yeh.”

 

_What a wonderful conversationalist you are, Blue._

 

“THAT’S…. THAT’S…. Fantastic!!” Blue schooled his voice into some semblance of calm, doing small motions to calm his buzzing magic.

 

Okay. Okay.

 

He can do this.

 

Easy. No problem.

 

Just a relaxing soak with his Maybe-Crush.

 

A _naked_ soak with his Definitely-Crush.

 

The feet underneath the door shuffled. Blue could faintly hear Red’s breathing. It did _not_ aid him with calming down. Red was just on the other side of the door… likely clothed similarly to Blue; with nothing but a thick robe separating his bones from the open air.

 

“i… um... i brought towels… jus’ in case ya weren’t comfy wit’ bein’ _bare bones_ …”

 

Strangely, Red’s bad joke put Blue at ease. His magic stopped buzzing so excitedly and even managed to make a sound that _wasn’t_ completely flustered.

 

“RED! Don’t let my brother’s sub par humor get to you!” Blue chided, finally cracking open the door, looking to see a smiling Red. The beads of sweat on the slightly taller skeleton’s skull were a dead giveaway that he was as, if not more, nervous than Blue about this whole ordeal.

 

In his arms were the promised towels.

 

Blue grabbed one gently, stepping outside of the stall, hoping that his SOUL was no longer glowing and the blush on his face had receded to be no more noticeable than usual.

 

Red either didn’t notice, or decided not to mention it if anything was amiss.

 

“i been makin’ puns fer _decades_ , sweetheart. yer kid brother dun’ got _nuthin’_ on me.”

 

Blue gave a skeptical hum in the back of his throat, jabbing Red playfully with his elbow. “I, for one, happen to enjoy thoughtful, witty humor.”

 

Red snickered, “ah, yeah. dry humor. _bone dry._ suits ya.”

 

Blue offered nothing but a roll of his eye lights and a grin in response to Red’s joke.

 

…. 

 

The two walked in relative silence until Red spoke up again.

 

“so, it ain’t tourist season ‘r nuthin’, th’ springs are empty.”

 

“Lucky us!” Blue cheered keeping pace with Red as he walked, letting himself be led outside to an area he hadn’t seen before.

 

… Which was a huge mistake, as he was coming to discover. The springs were _beautiful_. The building itself was built nearly into the mountains that the small village was surrounded by; making for quite a view in itself.

 

Blue didn’t think for a second that large craggy rock walls, with steaming water dribbling from the sides, falling into a wonderful and bubbling l aquamarine pool, vibrant vegetation framing the large fences keeping the area private was what awaited him right in the backyard of the hotel.

 

He breathed out a sigh of awe, taking in the sight with large eye lights. Honestly, Blue wouldn’t be surprised if Red asked why his eye lights had turned to stars.

 

“tha’ was my reaction, too.” Red laughed, carefully replacing his robe with the towel, managing to not flash Blue.

 

Blue followed his example, blush coming back onto his face. At least now he could say that it was the humidity and heat of the springs that were causing his bones to flush. The two of them placed their robes on a nearby bench, shyly entering the water a few feet from each other.

 

Red strayed to the far end of the pool, next to where the small waterfall poured into the water. He leaned back with a laugh, getting sprayed in the face.

 

… Blue, on the other hand, was stuck in place. Watching Red move through the water, watching as it cascaded down over his bones. The towel didn’t fail in it’s job of protecting Red’s ribs, spine and pelvis from view, but there was just something so _alluring_ about the sight of Red all wet, in a pool, with nothing but a scrap of cloth to cover him…

 

He ended up sinking into the water up to his nasal cavity, trying to hide his expression. The water was soothing, but did nothing to quell the heat in his bones.

 

Red, looking up brightly, so oblivious to Blue’s plight that it _hurt_ , waved the blue-toned skeleton over.

 

“ey, c’mere. there’s sumthin’ cool i wanna show ya!”

 

Blue stayed put. He didn’t want to risk exposing his face and thus his predicament.

 

Red’s smile faltered.

 

“u-uh… if ya wanna??”

 

_Delta._

 

Blue closed his eye sockets and took a deep sigh in and out through his nasal aperture. When he opened his sockets back up, he rose from his slouched position in the water with a large grin.

 

“COMING!!”

 

The red-toned skeleton’s grin returned full force as he ducked under the waterfall, disappearing from Blue’s sight. Said skeleton was instantly worried, wondering _where the stars_ Red had gone.

 

Was there some sort of current?? The water was only about four feet deep, there shouldn’t be anything like that?? Did he get dragged down by the water from the waterfall, _were his fragile bones being ground into dust by the pressure of the falling water?? Was he DROWNING??_

 

All these worries and more were swiftly put to rest when Blue heard Red’s voice from beyond the fall, muffled and confused, but happy all the same.

 

Careful with his towel, Blue waded closer to the falling water and ducked down under it, coming up on the other side only to find a sight more breathtaking that the springs itself.

 

A cave.

 

Blue huffed out a surprised laugh.

 

_Of course there was a cave._

 

The cave was small, barely tall enough for Red to sit upright on a ledge without ducking his head, up to his shoulders in water, and it was only wide enough for perhaps one more person of Blue’s size. It was slightly cramped, but as Blue was smaller than even Red, he found it easy to wade in closer and find a perch on some submerged rocks close to Red.

 

The two were now shoulder to shoulder; faces merely inches apart. Both of their slightly labored breathing (from wading through the water, the heat of the springs, and maybe something else…?) echoed on the rocky walls around them.

 

Rocky walls that were covered in small crystals. The cave itself was completely dark, but the slightly glowing water cast a soft blue light over everything in the cave, lighting up both the crystals and Red’s face.

 

Blue would never admit it out loud or to himself in full, but he found Red absolutely breathtaking covered in his color.

 

“so. cool?”

 

Blue nodded his skull, almost too enthusiastically.

 

“DEFINITELY!! HEALING PROPERTIES TO THE MAX!!”

 

… His loud voice echoed around the walls, causing both of the skeletons to cringe slightly.

 

“Right!” Blue said sheepishly, “Inside voice!”

 

… Red only laughed after he recovered, soft and deep.

 

“‘m glad yer feelin’ better. i feel fuckin’ terrible ‘bout everythin’...”

 

Blue shifted closer to Red, bumping their shoulders together. He could feel Red’s breath from here, but he tried to not let it deter him.

 

“It’s really no problem. Accidents happen all the time!”

 

“but edge - “  
  
“Is a teenager.” Blue reassured. “I know he’s your brother. Like I said earlier, I don’t blame you and I don’t blame him. Take as much time as you need. I’m in it for the long game!”

 

“this ain’t the first time he did sumthin’ like this.” Red blurted suddenly, face burning a visible red, even through the blue glow of the water around them.

 

_What…?_

 

“he… he… ah… “ Red struggled with words.

 

And although Blue _knew_ he should be pressing Red for information, even though he _knew_ this was a business trip, not a personal trip, and even though he _knew_ he was just digging himself deeper, Blue covered Red’s mouth with a singular phalanx.

 

“Shh…”

 

Red paused, cheekbones flushing further, eye lights trained on Blue’s hand.

 

“Relax. Isn’t that what you told me?”

 

Red nodded mutely.

 

“So! Let’s talk about ourselves! I barely know you!” Really, Blue was running on empty idea wise. He felt like a crazy person, yelling random things and asking stupid questions and putting his hands on Red’s face like he wasn’t wondering what it would be like if his fingers were _inside_ of Red’s mouth instead - 

 

_Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts!_

 

Red shrugged.

 

“ain’t much t’ know. ‘m a _bone_ afied snore-fest.”

 

Blue couldn’t help the snort that left him. “I’m sure that’s not true! What about all that time before you got here? What did you do, then?”

 

“ah… nuthin’ interestin’.”

 

“Really?” Blue said skeptically. “No interesting people, places?”

 

Red looked away, sinking further into the water, lowering himself to be shorter than Blue.

 

“nope. i guess ya could call it more of a hell than anythin’ else. populated with grade a assholes. _real_ demons, if ya catch my drift.”

 

Blue frowned. That was the same wording he’d used when describing Thomas. Thomas who’d attacked Red and apparently been a predator long before the demon came into town.

 

“I don’t know.” Blue said idly, changing to conversation topic. As much as he wanted to know more about Red, he could tell this was a sensitive subject. And neither Red nor Blue were great with sensitive subjects. “I’ve met a few real demons.”

 

Red laughed, but it sounded empty.

 

_That just won’t do, now will it?_

 

“yeah. tell me ‘bout ‘em, baby blue. what’s it like bein’ a hunter?”

 

Blue was… momentarily taken aback.

 

He’d never told Red about his little fantasy - about being a demon hunter rather than an exorcist.

 

How strange.

 

… But he continued, nonetheless.

 

“It was quite fun, before I was transferred to a different department! Demons are quite sly, it was always a rush to beat them at their own game!”

 

Red closed his eye sockets and nodded once to signify that he was still listening.

 

“I was commended by my supervisor more than once for being exceptionally brave… I’ve never even hesitated when faced with a demon! The fight is especially thrilling…”

 

Blue thought back on all the encounters with demons he’d had.

 

He wasn’t lying when he said they were sly. Most demons he ousted in the middle of whatever nefarious plot they were a part of had tried to engage him in conversation rather than violence.

 

At first, Blue had been weary.

 

He was taught that demons were mostly mindless beats, set on wreaking havoc.

 

But he soon learned that these conversations and words were a cover for the animalistic and vengeful mind they hid. Demons weren’t like animals. Being animals would imply they didn’t know the consequences of their actions, didn’t right from wrong.

 

Demons knew everything they did was against the Good Goddess herself, and yet still chose to commit those acts. To torture innocents and to steal SOULs.

 

They were incapable of goodness.

 

“The look on their face when their body fades back into Fell... “ Blue hummed.

 

He didn’t want to get too into detail with Red, knowing that the slightly taller skeleton was still under a lot of pressure from Edge’s demon.

 

A quick look at Red showed that Blue had made the right decision to stop. Red had opened his eye sockets again and his face looked slightly queasy.

 

“r-right back to fell?”

 

“Yup! It’s where they belong, it’s where all demons come from.”

 

“y-yeah. i guess so…”

 

“Well, nowadays I’m stuck in an office. This is my first field job in years. I was transferred to an office after my apprenticeship.”

 

“so… uh… yer pretty eager t’ proove yerself… huh?”

 

Blue nodded in agreement.

 

“But like I said. I’m willing to wait for you or Edge to be ready. I’m not _heartless_. Not like a demon, Mweh!”

 

Blue didn’t see Red’s conflicted look as the taller sunk further into the water.

 

_*th’ long game, huh?_

 

_*wonder just how long ya take t’ figure it out._

 

_*will ya spare us?_

  
_*spare_ me?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhhhggggghhhhh
> 
> i'm sorry! i didn't update last week!!!! i've been super super busy with the end of the semester coming up, so i haven't been able to write as much as i've wanted to. i don't plan to make this a habit, don't worry!
> 
> and um... i guess now is a good as any time to talk about it...
> 
> i've planned for about 25 chapters for this work, about 2k words each, ending at about roughly 50-60k in total.  
> so!!! we're like almost half way there!!
> 
> after i finish this, i want to write something new! sanscest, of course, but i've got a few ideas.
> 
> which is why i set up a poll! you can vote in [this poll](https://linkto.run/p/SJ41DPIG) to see which story i'll write next. there's three options, three separate ships, three separate plots!
> 
> voting is anonymous, so go for it! i'll be looking forward to the results! and the poll will stay open until i finish this fic!


	12. just. confusion.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue attempts to do many things and fails at most.

 

 

The longer they sat in the springs, the more tired Blue became.

 

He knew he should be thankful, since it was an indicator that the springs really  _ were _ helping him to heal by calling on the magic his SOUL naturally produced to help repair his body, but he was a little disappointed by his own fatigue.

 

Blue attempted to carry on, but after only a half hour or so, he found his sockets drooping, and had almost sunk into the water several times. Luckily, Red was there to pull him up each time, looking both hopelessly embarrassed and awkward.

 

“we should prolly get’cha back to yer room…” Red commented after Blue nearly fell asleep for the fourth time. By now, Red was sitting practically on top of Blue as he held his upper body above the water. Blue was leaning on him, close enough to see the little droplets of water on Red’s ribs as they splashed down back into the springs.

 

“N-Nonsense!” Blue argued, “I’m perfectly… perfectly fine…” Against his argument, the blue toned skeleton felt his sockets drooping again, his body relaxing further into Red.

 

Red snorted, flicking Blue’s forehead. The shorter skeleton made an incredulous sound and splashed Red.

 

“dumbass.” The red toned skeleton teased, voice full of affection.

 

Blue blushed his namesake, not quite sure how to respond to the emotion in Red’s voice. He was getting woozy and was weak to the sudden urge to kiss Red right on the teeth.

 

He barely restrained himself, settling for the less brazen but extremely appealing act of resting his face on Red’s clavicle. Like this, if he pursed whatever slightly-softer bone material that constituted as his lips, he’d be kissing Red.

 

_ Stars _ .

 

Maybe it  _ was _ time for him to get out…

 

Blue helped as Red gently moved him to help him leave, clinging to his towel so that he didn’t accidentally flash the taller skeleton who was being so generous.

 

“... Thanks, Red.” Blue sighed, feeling exhausted out of nowhere. The springs worked maybe a little too well.

 

Red seemed to be a little out of it himself, though, bones completely flushed down to where Blue couldn’t see past the towel. He was sweating, too, small streaks of pink mixing in with the water falling down from his bones…

 

The sharp-toothed skeleton was giving Blue an intense look, and the smaller was embarrassed to know he probably looked quite similar to Red.

 

… At the same time, however, there was something far too intimate about the whole situation, and it was  _ not _ filling Blue with pure thoughts.

 

Red proved to be decent. He didn’t feel Blue up like Blue wanted to do to the other, nor did he look anywhere there  _ might _ have been suspicious glowing on the smaller skeleton’s part. Said skeleton was regretfully not as self-disciplined.

 

There were too many thoughts running through his skull. He wanted to kiss Red. He wanted to kiss him  _ so badly _ . He wanted to confess to the confusing thoughts and feelings he harboured to the taller, he wanted to touch him and be touched and so much more.

 

Red looked away as Blue re-dressed in his robe.

 

Blue tried to maintain the same level of respect, and managed to keep his gaze turned away while Red dropped his towel, the fabric making a wet  _ slap _ against the rock ground. Ironically, he was saved by his own fantasies, not realizing Red had finished getting his robe on until he’d tapped Blue on the shoulder.

 

“ya good, baby blue?”

 

Bright blue, Blue responded, “Fantastic! Better than ever!”

 

Red smiled, absolutely melting Blue’s previous train of thought, and took his hand to lead him presumably back to his room.

 

“i noticed sum’uv yer cuts were gone. take it easy t’morrow, ‘kay?”

 

The shorter skeleton nodded, silent.  He didn’t trust himself to say something dumb. Like asking Red to stay with him or something equally embarrassing.

 

It took a disappointingly short amount of time for the two to reach Blue’s room, cautiously cracking the unlocked door open to an empty room.

 

Strange.

 

Shouldn’t the room be locked if Stretch was in?

 

The situation was vaguely suspicious, but Blue was out of it and it wasn’t too out of line to assume that Stretch had left the door unlocked accidentally. Blue would have to scold him later.

 

Those thoughts fell away when Red lead Blue to his bed.

 

Like a gentleman, Red helped Blue down and turned to leave.

 

… Still woozy and not in full control of his actions, Blue grabbed the edge of Red’s sleeve, pulling him back. It wasn’t nearly enough to stop Red on its own, but the stout skeleton stopped regardless, and turned to Blue with a curious expression.

 

“need sumthin’?” He asked softly.

 

“Yeah.” Blue swallowed, “Come here.”

 

The smaller skeleton felt like he was burning up, bones hot and joints and SOUL flushed. He tugged Red closer until the taller was standing at Blue’s side, knees touching the bed.

 

Then.

 

Blue sat up more abruptly than he thought was possible in his condition. It made his head spin, but he had one goal.

 

If nothing else… He wanted to be able to kiss Red at least once. He wanted to  _ feel _ Red once.

 

He didn’t know if it Red was having the same thoughts or if Blue caught him off guard, but Red fell surprisingly easily onto Blue when he pulled him down.

 

Blue pressed his teeth to Red’s, moving to clutch at the back of Red’s robe and pull him closer. He was panting through his nasal aperture, sockets closed and yet somehow still seeing stars.

 

He heard Red’s gasp and felt the taller flinch, stiffening up. It took a few seconds for Blue to realize in his state that Red was attempting to pull off.

 

With a gasp of his own, Blue released Red, who instantly stood up straight and took several steps backwards away from the bed.

 

“R-Red…” Blue started, the guilt beginning to set in.  _ Stars. _ Could he really not control himself? Sleepy or no, there was no excuse for accosting Red as he did…

 

“it’s okay.” Red said. 

 

It wasn’t. Blue could see that the bigger skeleton was trembling. His bones were shaking.

 

“I’m sorry,” Blue attempted, moving his legs to the side of the bed to stand, but Red took several more steps back.

 

Red was  _ scared. _ Blue felt  _ terrible. _

 

“It’s fine.” Red told him, “it’s fine, i’m okay… i’m… goodbye…”

 

And Red left.

 

He closed the door behind him, leaving the room dark. The blinds were open, but by now the sun was setting.

 

Blue flopped back down on his bed, covering his face with his arm.

 

Goddess, he messed up. He  _ really _ messed up.

 

Blue never should have…!

 

It was a  _ business _ trip. When did he stop telling himself that? When did he let himself let his feelings take over?

 

_ Why _ hadn’t he realized that Red didn’t feel the same?

 

“I’m a fool.” Blue whispered to himself.

 

He would have stayed up for hours longer to reply the exact moment he could feel Red pull away, but his body was still healing. He fell into a restless sleep.

 

…

 

Upon awakening, Blue was confused by the utter darkness of the room. It took a minute to realize that he’d fallen asleep earlier than usual.

 

So.

 

He must have woken up late at night.

 

The blue toned skeleton groaned, looking over at the night stand that separated he and his brother’s twin sized beds to check the time.

 

Across the way, he saw a large lump under the blankets he assumed to be Stretch.

 

The digital clock read in bright flashing numbers what Blue hoped it wouldn’t.

 

_ 2:39 am _

Great.

 

Well. There was no way Blue was falling back asleep, which meant he was doomed to sit through the boring and dark hours of the morning with nothing but his own tratorous and mortifying thoughts.

 

Blue reached for his phone, which was on the nightstand right where he’d left it the previous morning, and pulled open the video app to see if he could find any quick entertainment. Unfortunately, the wifi really  _ did _ suck.

 

There was no signal at all, either.

 

Great.

 

Blearily, Blue thought that a midnight walk might help. He hoped to at least make himself tired enough to sleep a few more hours so he wasn’t a zombie the next day.

 

The bruises and cuts on his back didn’t ache as badly as the previous day, which Blue noted with a triumphant huff as he stood. As Blue was still wearing the hot springs robe, he grabbed a simple shirt and some stretchy pants to change into.

 

Quitely, of course, as not to disturb Stretch.

 

When he was dressed, Blue left his room to wander the halls.

 

It was dark, with only the only lighting in the halls being dim and spread far apart, likely not to disrupt sleeping or tired guests.

 

Despite knowing this, Blue couldn’t help but think that it set a rather creepy atmosphere.

 

As Blue walked through the halls, he kept his head down, thinking about everything he’d learned.

 

For whatever reason, it seemed as though the church and Red’s family were interconnected in some sort of conspiracy that related to the demon. While the priest himself was a rather unsavory character, it seemed as if he truly believed in restoring normalcy to the town by getting rid of the demon.

 

Red’s family, on the other hand…

 

Secrets. They seemed to have it in spades.

 

Wing was polite, yet distant and cold.

 

Red was charming, kind and gentle, but he held the key to so many mysteries. Blue wanted to give him time, didn’t want to rush him or make him feel cornered, but he was  _ frustrated. _ Red was trying to protect Edge.

 

Edge, who had summoned a demon.

 

Where could a sixteen year old be hiding a demon? And how long had this been going on before the murder?

 

Would anybody have ever found out about the demon if not for that murder…?

 

Would it have been so bad to just have let the demon exist in the villiage if there was no murder?

 

Blue shook his head, nearly snorting at his own thoughts.

 

Of course he couldn’t let a demon be. Demons were evil. There’s no  _ if _ to the murder, it would have been inevitable as it’s in a demon’s nature to kill. To devour.

 

“Oh. If it isn’t Blue.”

 

Nearly shrieking, the short skeleton jumped back from the sudden voice, SOUL hammering in his rib cage.

 

A few feet away stood Wing. Completely unimpressed with Blue’s display.

 

“It appears I’ve startled you.” The tall skeleton said boredly. His bright red eyelights seemed to burn into Blue as the two shared eye contact.

 

Shamefully, Blue was the first to look away.

 

“Ah - y-you did. Silly me.” Blue replied, attempting to sound light hearted.

 

“I apologize.” Wing didn’t sound sorry at all. “But I must ask you why you are out so early in the morning.”

 

“I could ask the same of you,” Blue joked. 

 

It fell flat.

 

“I, uh, couldn’t sleep. And I’m sorry about the window debacle.” He finally added.

 

Wing nodded. “Red informed me that you were startled. Your assistance wasn’t necessary in the first place, however. I’ll simply bill the priest with the damages.”

 

…

 

“Okay.” Blue said.

 

He felt awkward. What were you supposed to say to your crush’s dad at three in the morning when he found you walking around at night??

 

“You’re confused.” Wing suddenly spoke.

 

“I - What?” Blue stuttered, feeling a little dumbfounded by the sudden commentary.

 

“About Red. The demon. This whole town, I’m presuming.” Wing continued, “You’re confused. That’s a good thing, you know. This is your chance. To leave. Forget. Say you sent the demon back to Fell. Leave.”

 

“I…” What was Blue supposed to say to that? “I couldn’t. I - I  _ wouldn’t _ . This town is in danger.”

 

Wing’s face shifted into an expression Blue couldn’t read.

 

“Trust me when I say,” The taller’s voice shifted to something decidedly  _ not _ friendly, “That we do  _ not _ need you. Not the town, not me, and most certainly  _ not Red. _ ”

 

“I’m only here to  _ help _ ,” Blue argued, feeling irritated. It was like he was talking to a taller, more mature version of Edge. The edgy teen had used the same language.

 

\--

_ “BECAUSE!” The tall skeleton exploded, “BECAUSE I DO! DO YOU THINK IT’S A COINCIDENCE THAT RED, OF ALL MONSTERS, GETS TARGETED SO OFTEN? DID HE TELL YOU THAT?” _

 

_ No. Red did not. _

 

_ Red had admitted to getting jumped, but it this was something regular… _

 

_ “IT’S BECAUSE HE’S DIFFERENT! AND HE DOESN’T NEED LEECHES LIKE YOU HANGING OFF OF HIM! SO FUCK OFF, THIS TOWN DOESN’T NEED YOU, I DON’T NEED YOU, AND RED DOESN’T NEED YOU!” _

_ \-- _

 

“You don’t  _ know _ that.” Blue defended. “Your son summoned a  _ demon _ . Aren’t you worried, he could be  _ killed! _ ”

 

_ “The only ones who will hurt him, are the ones who claim to help!” _ Wing roared, suddenly and passionately. Blue was shocked. He stumbled back, almost afraid that the tall monster would swing at him.

 

“I wouldn’t.” Blue shot back.

 

“Not you, maybe,” Wing continued, “but others. There’s people in this town who would burn this building down without a shred of regret.  _ Those _ are the real demons. Right now, your presence is only stoking those fires.  _ Leave. _ Leave, and maybe this town will be safe.”

 

Unable to speak, Blue shook his head.

 

_ What? _

 

Who would…?

 

“T-Tell me…” The short skeleton breathed upon finding his voice, “Who?”

 

Wing stood up straight, looking down as best he could at Blue. He still looked angry, but was slightly pacified.

 

“Take a closer look at the priest who deems himself  _ pure. _ ”

 

… And then Wing left.

 

And Blue was still confused.

 

Why is it that the answers he received always left him with more questions…?

 

Feeling as though he’d been drained of all his energy through the short encounter, Blue retreated back to his room and entered it, carefully again as to not rouse Stretch.

 

… But something was off…

 

Stretch’s body looked a little lumpy under the covers….

 

Cautiously, Blue went to the other bed and gently shook his brother’s shoulder.

 

Or what would have been his brother’s shoulder, if the blankets hadn’t fallen and revealed that it was not Stretch under the sheets, but a line of pillows.

 

A cold, icy feeling gripped Blue.

 

_ Where is Stretch?! _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the absence!!! oh jeez, it sure has been awhile, huh? i took a break for finals last year, and thought i was going to write over my break... yeah... didn't happen...
> 
> for some reason now that i'm starting class next week i've got more motivation to write??? i'll try and pick it back up with weekly updates! :D
> 
> by the way, there's a poll [here](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2624040xe52f4C2E-75) that you can take for what story i'm going to write next! it's anonymous and open right up until this fic is finished :D.
> 
> have a nice day and leave a comment if you'd like!


	13. history has an odd way of repeating itself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically: stretch takes the investigation into his own hands since blue is too busy making kissy kissy at red.
> 
> .... stretch uncovers quite a bit.

 

 

Stretch was on edge.

 

_Hah._

 

It was funny, because he was on edge, but he was also _onto_ Edge.

 

As in, onto Edge's bullshit.

 

Ever since Blue had gotten hurt that morning - and spent the afternoon with Red, Stretch didn’t know what to do with himself. When Blue wasn’t around, Stretch mostly fucked around town. He visited different spots around town trying to get internet or procure a smoke.

 

Unfortunately he hadn’t found a place that trusted his ID. Which was bullshit because it was a very _real_ ID.

 

It was probably largely in part that he just so happened to have a baby face. And was an unfamiliar person in the small town.

 

But Blue being hurt made him tense.

 

By now, it had almost been a week since they’ve entered town.

 

And so far all Blue had done was get a crush on the bar tender.

 

He was probably too far deep to realize that the entire family was a giant red flag.

 

Hah.

 

 _Red_ flag.

 

Yeah.

 

The priest was also a huge red flag.

 

The guy was a fucking creep.

 

But Stretch couldn’t just open an investigation on the priest because he wasn’t officially an exorcist yet, and thi wasn’t even technically his case.

 

But _someone_ had to figure out what the fuck was going on and get rid of the demon.

 

(which Stretch was honestly doubting by now. Wouldn’t it have done something? What if it was a nice demon?)

 

It didn’t matter, though.

 

Stretch just wanted to go back to his own bed and have reliable internet.

 

So he decided to take a page from his brother the detective and do a stake out.

 

On the youngest family member; Red’s brother, Edge.

 

As the youngest and most temperamental, it was most likely that he would slip something important. So Stretch decided to follow him around the next day, to see if he got into anything shady or did anything illegal.

 

Nothing much.

 

 Just enough to keep his mind off of his brother’s injury and try to help him out with the investigation while he was out of commission.

 

… Except, at exactly twelve in the morning, the start of the new day, he heard shuffling in the hallways. Stretch peaked his head out to see what was happening, and saw a tall figure round the corner.

 

He would recognize those shoulder pads anywhere.

 

It was _Edge._

 

What was he doing walking around the springs in the middle of the fucking night?

 

…  So Stretch decided to start his investigation a little earlier. Blue was still asleep, resting peacefully, so Stretch lined up some pillows under his blanket in the relative shape he slept in, and quietly followed Edge out of the springs.

 

The kid was suspicious as _fuck._

 

He kept looking around, twitching - he just looked guilty in general.

 

Stretch followed Edge until they reached an alley.

 

Edge entered the alley.

 

Stretch watched from a hidden area, craning his neck to see into the dark space.

 

… There was already someone there.

 

Edge was meeting up with them. Edge handed the other something, and received what looked like a bag in return.

 

 _holy harvest,_ Stretch thought, _it’s a fucking drug deal._

 

How in the nine circles of Fell was Edge, a literal sixteen year old, able to procure _drugs_ in this town when Stretch couldn’t even buy a pack of cigarettes?! It was so un _fair._

 

When the figure who’d given Edge the package scurried out of the alley, thankfully blind to Stretch’s presence, Stretch stalked into the narrow passage, cornering an unwitting Edge.

 

Said skeleton looked down into the bag, a smirking covering his face before he looked up and saw Stretch.

 

He blanched.

 

_Serves you right, fucker._

 

“WHAT - “ Edge slapped a hand over his own mouth, realizing how loud he was. “What The Fell Are You Doing Here, Carrot Stick?” The teen hissed. He clutched the bag to his chest with his claws, drawing into a defensive stance.

 

“i’d like to ask you the same thing.” Stretch drawled out, casually. Like he was having a chat with an old friend. “y’know, except without the whole ‘carrot stick’ thing. maybe replace that with edge mcedglord.”

 

Edge sneered.

 

“Har Har. You’re A Fucking Comedian. Now Get Lost.”

 

“not so fast buddy.” Stretch pointed to the bag Edge was still guarding like it was a baby and he was the mama bear. “what’s in the bag.”

 

“None Of Your Business.” Edge replied as evenly as he could. Which was to say, not at all. His voice rose in pitch, sounding like he was almost in pain.

 

“you aren’t fooling me. you want me to tell your brother what you’re out here doing? Your dad?”

 

Like Stretch expected, Edge practically folded under the threat.

 

“You Will _Not_ Tell My Father Or Red About This.” Edge ordered.

 

“don’t think you’re in the place to be making those types of demands, edge.”

 

Stretch stared Edge down for a good minute before Edge slumped and looked away.

 

“You Cannot Tell _Anyone_ About What I Am Going To Show You.”

 

The orange toned skeleton nodded eagerly. Edge slowly handed over the bag.

 

“Do _Not_ Mess With It.”

 

 _Finally._ Maybe Edge would share whatever he scored if Stretch threatened to tattle on him again.

 

Blue would so _not_ be proud of him right now. But Blue was still making goo goo eyes at the bar tender, so it didn’t really matter.

 

But instead of narcotics, the bag was filled with… pictures? Papers?

 

“th’ fuck?”

 

“Are You Happy?” Edge snapped, ripping the bag away from Stretch.

 

“what is it?” Stretch asked.

 

“Nunya.”

 

The older skeleton rolled his eyelights. “c’mon, edgelord. spill the beans.”

 

“There Are No Beans.” 

 

“metaphorical beans. why’re those papers so important. You trying to cheat on summer school assignments?”

 

Edge huffed angrily before looking around.

 

“Not Here.”

 

He grabbed Stretch by the wrist, leading him out of the alley and around some twists and bends until they reached a small house.

 

It must have been half an hour until they arrived, and Stretch had been starting to think that Edge was leading him around to nowhere to throw Stretch off. When they finally reached the house, though, the taller skeleton let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to spend his night pursuing a random goose chase.

 

Edge knocked three times on the door, and it slowly slid open.

 

“Edge?” A meek voice from within called.

 

The teen grunted in response, pulling Stretch along with him.

 

“I Have Got A Newbie With Me.”

 

The voice squeaked.

 

“Are you sure we can trust him?”

 

“He Is A Monster.” Edge confirmed.

 

The door opened fully, and Stretch was so confused and distracted by the sudden influx of light that he didn’t notice the pink ghost shutting the door swiftly behind him, locking up the door with a total of four locks clicking into place.

 

It was a normal house, nothing out of the ordinary.

 

The ghost, presumably the one who’d been talking earlier, was practically sweating. They had a little bit of fluff in front of their heavily mascaraed eyes, and they were looking at Edge nervously.

 

“This Is Stretch.” Edge told them, pointing at Stretch.

 

He waved.

 

The ghost waved back.

 

“I’m, um, I’m Hapstablook.”

 

“nice to meet you. going to tell me what’s in the bag now?”  
  


Hapstablook’s sad eyes lit up at the mention of the bag.

 

“You got it! Oh… Goddess..!”

 

Edge smirked, “I Did. It Seems There Is A Lot To Go Over.”

 

“yeah, that’s cool,” Stretch interrupted, “but what’s in the bag?”

 

“Information Regarding A Society That Has Been Coded ‘Morality Maniacs.’” Edge finally relinquished.

 

… Stretch couldn’t hold back a snort.

 

“ _... m-morality maniacs??”_

 

Edge scowled.

 

“It’s A Code Name M&Ms.”

 

“I think it’s very smart, Edge.” Hapstablook commented.

 

“Thank You.” Edge acknowledged

 

The small ghost lit up at the thanks, smiling briefly before turning to Stretch.

 

“It’s a long story.”

 

“We Have Time.” Edge told the two of them. “Should I Tell It Or Do You Want To?”

 

Hapstablook gasped, “I would like to! Okay, Okay, so it all starts about thirty five years ago, are you listening?” The ghost looked up at Stretch.

 

Stretch nodded his head.

 

… Thirty five years ago?

 

“You Might Want To Sit.” Edge commented.

 

Stretch sat on the couch next to Edge. Before them stood Hapstablook, looking incredibly serious for a hot pink ghost.

 

“A kid in this town found out about the M&Ms, and he wanted to expose them. This was the first instance of a demon summoning in this town.” Hapstablook explained.

 

… The demon’s been here for thirty five years? The _first_ demon?

 

“But the M&Ms didn’t like this, so they, um… well. They tried to get rid of him. They burned his house down, killing his parents and injuring him for life.”

 

Hapstablook looked over to Edge nervously.

 

Edge nodded as he continued for them.

 

“I Have Never Known My Grandparents. They Died When My Father Was A Boy. In A Fire That Took Partial Mobility Of His Left Leg. The Very Next Day, The Priest Was Found Dead In The Woods Behind The Burned House. His Throat Was Slit. Five Men Went Missing.”

 

Stretch gaped at Edge.

 

“your dad summoned a demon.” He asked, but it came out as more of a statement.

 

_What the fuck._

 

“Yes.” Edge responded grimly. “Worry Not, He Paid The Price. But The Bastards Who Killed My Grandparents Have Not.”

 

“and you’re trying to find out who they are…” Stretch filled in.

 

“It Seems You Are Not A Complete Imbecile.”

 

“I’m helping!” Hapstablook interjected. “I’m good with information stuff! And secrets!”

 

“You Have Been Very Helpful.”

 

Once again, Hapstablook preened under the praise.

 

“no. not such a long story.”

 

“We Are Filing In The Missing Pieces.”

 

“but why don’t you just ask your dad. He knows, right?”

 

Edge sighed, running a skeletal hand down the back of his skull. “He Does Not Want Me Involved. He Thinks It Is Too Dangerous, As Does Red.”

 

“i mean, these guys burned down his house and killed his parents.”

 

“That Is _Why_ They Need To Be Caught.” Edge stressed. Hapstablook nodded along seriously.

 

…

 

Stretch sighed.

 

There was a lot more going on in this village than he’d originally assumed.

 

But there was still the original quest they were sent out for; evil secret societies or not, he needed to find the demon.

 

“the demon your father summoned,” Stretch started. Edge tensed. “is it still around?”

 

Slowly, Edge replied.

 

He was thinking about his words.

 

He was hiding something.

 

“They Broke Their Contract The Night My Father’s House Burned Down. He Returned To The Underworld.”

 

_He._

 

The demon has a gender, huh.

 

There’s a lot more that Edge isn’t telling, but he just revealed a fuck ton of other information, so Stretch can’t fault him.

 

“my brother and i can help with your project.” Stretch offered.

 

Edge shook his head.

 

“No. You Are Too Suspicious. But…”

 

_But…?_

 

“I Will Not Oppose You Looking Into The Priest’s Ethical Practices. I Want To See That Pig Sweat.”

 

Stretch gave a nod to Edge, feeling like he just signed his SOUL away.

 

“I Would Escort You Back To The Springs, But I Am Regrettably Busy At The Moment.” Edge told Stretch, “You Will Have To Find Your Own Way Back.”

 

It was Stretch’s turn to smirk.

 

“don’t worry,” He said. “i’ve got a ride.”

 

… Stretch wishes he cold have seen the look on their faces when he teleported back to the Springs.

 

He didn’t do it often since it used a lot of magic, but he didn’t feel quite as safe wandering around the town with his new knowledge.

 

… He didn’t expect the Springs to be in such an uproar when he got back.

 

He spotted Blue in the hallways, talking with a group of bunny girls who Stretch had seen around - they were the housekeepers and guides.

  
When Blue spotted _him,_ he knew he was in for the scolding of a lifetime.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry!! a lot of y'all were worried about stretch last chapter.
> 
> i wouldn't do anything bad to my boy.....
> 
>  
> 
> .... well. depends on which of the boys we're talking about, lol.
> 
> our babies are on the right path... it's not much longer now until some secrets are revealed ;)
> 
> p.s.:
> 
> sorry i haven't been replying to comments consistently! i've been ridiculously busy with classes this semester so far already ^^ i do read and appreciate them, though
> 
> it just takes me awhile to answer them :D
> 
> that being said, feel free to leave a comment! i'm going through them tonight so you're pretty much guaranteed an answer soon lol
> 
> i'm going to bed after tho lol


	14. an egg in these trying times?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue gets his eyes pried open by stretch, and the two discuss how to proceed with the case.
> 
> a break/fast/ leads to an unexpected break/through/ ;)

 

 

To say Blue was relieved would be an understatement. After what Wing had said, Blue was nearly paranoid. He thought Stretch had been  _ taken. _ Upon making these worries clear to Stretch, the younger skeleton had nothing to say for himself but  _ ‘sorry’ _ !

 

Honestly, the disrespect!

 

That night, Blue hardly got anymore rest. Neither did Stretch.

 

The two sat in their own beds, facing away from each other in silence.

 

It’s like Stretch didn’t even care that they were supposed to be acting professionally! Blue had even knocked on Red’s door to ask if the Springs had cameras that could see if someone had taken his younger brother. 

 

(Unfortunately, Red informed Blue that technology didn’t work too well in the Springs. It made a lot more sense, looking back, that the locks were all manual and there was no wifi. Demonic presence was a great jammer for technology.)

 

The red skeleton had seemed flustered to see Blue, but he’d helped the smaller look for his brother, nonetheless.

 

And Stretch had been fine all this time??? Doing what?? Playing detective?!

 

Preposterous! Stretch wasn’t even finished with his Academy training yet! What did he expect to accomplish on his own?

 

It was… dangerous.

 

There was a demon on the loose. Stretch could have been… hurt. Badly. And Blue wouldn’t have even known that he had been missing. He would have been too caught up in his failed kiss with Red -  _ Don’t think about that! _

 

“sorry.” Stretch started again, almost as if he could read where Blue’s thoughts were going.

 

“I’m aware.” Blue retorted with a huff, crossing his arms over his rib cage.

 

“... but you didn’t let me finish earlier, i - “   
  


“You _what_.” The venom in Blue's voice was palpable.

 

Less confident, Stretch continued. Blue had turned to face his younger brother, but the hoodie clad skeleton still hadn’t worked up the courage to face the other yet. “i found an… inside source.”

 

The information intrigued Blue. He was reluctant to show to Stretch that he was interested, not wanting to encourage his dangerous behavior, but he was desperate for a fresh lead. He’d gotten a small tidbit from Wing - that he should investigate the priest, but besides that he’d be ending nearly a week in this town without any more leads.

 

Edge, the demon, Red…. Wing. The priest.

 

There were all the pieces to a story, but Blue couldn’t put them together in his mind.

 

“....” Blue sighed. “You might as well get on with it. What did this source tell you?”

 

“the church. uh. apparently… there’s some real suspicious stuff going on over there.”

 

Although Blue already knew this lead - courtesy of Wing - it was encouraging to have the lead confirmed again.

 

“and, uh…” Stretch cleared his throat, looking out the window to their room nervously, like there was someone waiting. “apparently it isn’t the first time a demon’s been summoned in this town. there was an… incident thirty five years ago he - they, uh, they told me to investigate.”

 

Now  _ this _ was new.

 

Another demon? Thirty five years ago?

 

“And this mysterious source is…?” Blue prodded. He wanted to know who the one supplying all of this valuable and previously secret information was. Had he been looking in the wrong places all along?

 

“i can’t tell you. they’d get in trouble.” The tall skeleton confessed. “they said they’d try to keep me updated, though.”

 

It rubbed Blue the wrong way, to have Stretch be in contact with someone Blue didn’t know. Stretch had already passed the age of majority, but he’d always be the small skeleton’s little brother. But… he’d be on his own soon. At his level, he could petition to take his examination to become an exorcist and join the professional ranks by the end of the summer.

 

Blue had to learn to let go a little… even if he didn’t want to.

 

“I trust you....” 

 

Stretch sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping. For the first time since he’d received the verbal lashing from his brother about disappearing, the tall monster looked back at Blue.

 

“... Now tell me what you know about this ‘Event’ thirty five years ago.”

 

Stretch did his best to explain, stuttering here and there, but giving his own theories. The more the taller spoke, the more Blue… realized that he really  _ was _ turning out well. There was a feeling of pride in his SOUL that sung as Stretch spoke.

 

Perhaps it was time to regard him as an equal in this case…?

 

The two agreed to look into the town records as soon as possible, and swapped tidbits of information and theories until the sun came up…

 

… By that time, however, the brothers were passed out in their own beds, having fallen asleep in the middle of conversation. For only a brief moment, before Blue fell asleep, he forgot all about demons and only relished in the familiar and welcome feeling of exhaustion. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time… his years in an office had been strenuous, but not in the way Blue craved. Finally, he had back what he’d been missing for years. And he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way to keep it.

 

…. 

 

Of course, Blue was the first to awaken. His face felt crusty with dried drool, his clothes uncomfortably sticky on his bones. He pulled himself up to a sitting position

 

Blearily, he looked to the clock perched on the nightstand next to his bed and saw that it was already past noon. Stars… they were going to have to get a move on if they wanted to do any investigation today.

 

“Papy.” Blue called, slipping out of his bed and nudging the lump that was his brother. “Wake up, we” the small skeleton yawned, “We have to work today.”

 

Stretch shifted under the covers, awake but unwilling to admit it.

 

Blue nudged him again.

 

“Stretch.”

 

“mmmm…. doesn’t ring a bell. no stretch here.”

 

“We cannot… cannot..” Blue yawned again. Good  _ Goddess _ he was tired… “We musn’t slack in our duties. The new lead… we have to investigate it...”

 

“i was out alllll nighhhhht investigating.” Stretch whined, “i wanna sleep now.”

 

Blue took pity and stopped poking at his brother, instead slumping back onto his own bed. Why was he trying to wake up again? He was so tired. And the events from the previous day only enforced his wish to curl up in bed and never get up again…

 

… But he had to do this. He had to find the demon… prove himself to the Academy that he was more than just a desk jockey….

 

Luckily, Blue’s bodily needs soon pulled him out of his stupor. The loud growl of his magic, demanding sustenance, startled both brothers.

 

“... Hungry.” Blue pouted.

 

“hi hungry. i’m stretch.” Oh, and Blue could  _ hear _ the shit eating grin in his younger brother’s voice, too. Nevermind anything he thought about Stretch this morning, he was nothing more than an immature prankster.

 

“Sometimes I wonder if you dream of anarchy, brother, because this is the surest way to drive me into madness. Is that what you want?”

 

“that’s  _ crazy _ , bro, you know me. i’d be  _ insane _ to wish anything bad on you.”

 

“Perhaps it is you that is the demon.” Blue lamented, “Put here to torment me day after day with awful jokes.”

 

Eventually, the two did manage to wake up and get ready. Their goal wasn’t work, however. Blue decided to show Stretch the cafe Red had taken him to a few days ago for some breakfast. It  _ had _ been awhile since the brothers had spent some quality time together outside of school or work, which gave them the opportunity to not only share more ideas, but bond as well.

 

A human waitress took their order, smiling widely at the two.

 

“Are you two new in town?” She asked after jotting down their orders. “I haven’t seen you around at all.”

 

“eh, kinda. don’t worry, though, we’ll be out of your  _ hair _ soon.” Stretch replied, knocking his knuckles into his skull to emphasise the joke.

 

The waitress,  _ Emily _ , Blue could see written out on her name tag, giggled. The short skeleton rolled his eye lights so hard he thought they might get lost in his skull permanently. Ah, yes. Blue had nearly forgotten Stretch’s incessant flirting in public.

 

“Just visiting? You must be staying at the Springs then. It’s the only inn in town.” Now, the woman was twirling her curly blonde hair around one of her fingers. She was giving Stretch the  _ look _ , which seemed to make the tall skeleton uncomfortable.

 

Blue nearly snorted. Stretch could dish a few lines, but once reciprocated, he quickly lost his confidence.

 

“y-yup, ‘s pretty swanky. except for the fact that there’s no wifi, but,”

 

Before Stretch could make what was undoubtedly going to be another horrible joke, Blue was saved by Dogressa coming out front, wearing an apron covered in flower. She lit up at the sight of the skeletons.

 

“It’s you again! Emily, get these boys some juice on the house.” The dog monster requested as she neared the table.

 

The human waitress pouted a bit, but quickly went to the back to procure what Dogaressa had requested. “Sure thing, Ms. Ressa.”

 

“I’m glad you visited again. Who’s this?” Dogaressa held her paw out for Stretch to shake, a friendly grin on her snout.

 

“My brother,” Blue explained. “We were grabbing some late breakfast.”

 

The friendly monster blinked at the two, a small gasp leaving her mouth. “Breakfast?? Oh, dear, it’s far too late for  _ breakfast! _ You boys need some real nourishment. I’ll get you some sandwiches with your order, on me.”

 

“We couldn't,” Blue protested, feeling slightly flushed. She was being  _ far _ too generous, especially since all they had wanted was something to chat over.

 

“But  _ I _ can! I won’t let a friend of Red go hungry, you hear? That boy’s too good for this town.”

 

“yeah, listen to her, blue.” Stretch interjected, “you’re  _ suuuuch _ good friends with red. don’t knock the sandwiches.” There was a cheeky grin on his brother’s face, teasing.

 

As much as the teasing flustered Blue, he couldn’t help but think of the kiss he forced on Red... he doesn’t deserve friend status from the sharp-toothed skeleton…

 

But Blue couldn’t protest, because before he knew what was happening, Emily was bringing out two glasses filled with some sort of juice that smelled sweet and fruity. Her eyes were wide in interest. She’d been listening to their conversation. “You know Red??”

 

“short, edgy, real  _ punny  _ guy? yeah, we know him.” Stretch confirmed.

 

“He  _ is _ funny, isn’t he…” Emily did a little giggle again and looked to the side. Blue… did not like the way her face tinted pink as she got lost in her thoughts. “He’s really nice, too. He used to walk me home at night after my shift before I got a taser.” 

 

“Taser?” Blue questioned. He knew in the city that some humans and monsters found it necessary to equip themselves in case they needed to act in self defense, but in a town as small as this? Was it so dangerous at night?

 

Emily made a small face of displeasure. “There are some real freaks that like to hang around this area at night. They…” She looked away again, but more out of nervousness than fluster. “They can say some really weird things, and they’re touchy, too. But Red scares them off pretty well. I’m not the only one he’s helped out.”

 

A memory flashed by Blue’s eye sockets, of Red’s face as he described  _ Thomas _ . He’d said that the human was scummy, touching up on the bunnies or accosting people in alleys… Had he gone after Emily, too, or was there more?

 

“oh, yeh?” Stretch said casually. Blue could tell, however, that his curiosity was peaked. “what kinda things do they say?” The older skeleton listened carefully. Could this have been relating to whatever group Stretch had hinted at last night? The ones responsible for the arson…?

 

“Weird things. Purity, the ‘Holy Flame’. Ugh. Creeps.” Emily replied. There was a slight look of fear on her face, like she was remembering something unpleasant...

 

_ Fire. _

 

Unexpected information. If there  _ was _ indeed, an underground group in this town, it was definitely linked to whatever purifying flame they liked to talk about.

 

It was then that Dogaressa came back out with plates and plates of food balanced in her hands and on her arms. “You’re on break, Em!” She barked, “I have some extra sandwiches in the back if you’d like to have some.”

 

The human girl looked away, broken out of whatever memories she’d been reliving.

 

“Okay, Ms. Ressa!” She gave the two an apologetic look before scurrying back behind the counter and into the kitchen. Dogaressa took her place not long after, setting the plates in front of the skeletons.

 

“Now!” she clapped her hands together. “Make sure you tell Red I said hi. That poor boy can’t catch a break, and neither can his family, I swear.”

 

“Y-Yeah.” Blue started, unsure of where he was going. If Stretch’s source was correct, and the Fellster family was  _ indeed _ very involved in this case, somehow, then he needed to collect as much information about them as possible. And they didn’t seem to be providing it themself, so… “I heard about that fire.”

 

“...” Dogaressa went quiet, her doggy eyes wide. “He told you about the fire?”

 

_ Stars. _ Blue messed up, didn’t he?

 

“... Yes?”

 

Stretch had to stop himself from bursting into laughter across the table, absolutely enthralled by Blue’s awkwardness. The older skeleton sent his brother a nasty look.

 

“Oh, well. It was unfortunate. Wing and I… we weren’t close, but it’s a terrible thing, isn’t it? To lose your parents and home at the same time…” She sighed. “Of course, depending on who you ask, he had it coming, but I don’t believe that. Although…”

 

By now, Blue was on the edge of his seat. He was so close,  _ so close _ to having a breakthrough.

 

“The death of the priest… always struck me as odd. It was never published in the papers, but a friend told me that his throat was slashed from ear to ear. Terrible. And those men who went missing? Their poor families…” The monster shuddered, her eyes shut and a frown on her face. She regained her composure after a moment, giving the boys an apologetic smile. “I’m sure that’s the last thing you want to hear before you eat though, and I wouldn’t be too worried. Nothing like that has happened since… well, before the recent murder.”

 

She shrugged, “It’s uncanny, I have to say, though. Edge is quite similar to his father, but Red… he’s different from anyone I’ve ever met. Before he moved here, I hadn’t even known Wing had a second son. He must have been fairly young.”

 

With that, Dogaressa gave a few parting words before leaving.

 

Blue stared down at his plate in contemplation.

 

“It seems as though we have our work cut out for us, brother.” He said idly, moving around the eggs on his plate with a fork.

 

“yyuuuppp… pass me the syrup.”

 

“You’re insufferable.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been... awhile.... sorry! i got the flu early this year and couldn't write, then it spiraled into me being busy. ^^
> 
> i'm back, though!! and right on time because we're getting into the plot, now :)
> 
> i've heard a few of you guys' theories.... let's see if any of them are right, shall we?
> 
> leave a comment if you want!!!
> 
> (p.s.! i'm holding a [poll](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2624040xe52f4C2E-75) right now for what fic i should write next. anonymous voting, so please leave a vote! it's going to remain open until the fic is finished ((in about 11 chapters)))


	15. stretch gets what's coming to him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> blue decides that stretch needs to be taught a lesson after worrying him so much.... plus, it's been awhile since he's exercised properly!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY HEY HEY. stop right there, reader. you heard me, STOP.
> 
> i did some construction on this work to help the current timeline work better! check the end notes if you don't want to go back and read what's changed, but i changed minor parts of chapters 1, 10, and 11 to fit better. the end notes have what changed though. also i'm CURRENTLY going through and changing the tense for the entire fic, so that's why this chapter has a different tense ;)
> 
> okay you can read now!

 

 

The two brothers ended up taking the rest of that day to relax. Blue was still injured, after all, and he was still processing all of the new information. In the back of his head, he was always theorizing, though. Trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.

 

… There was something more pressing to attend to than timelines, though, and that was Stretch’s blatant disregard for Blue whenever he’d snuck out. It’s dangerous to be out alone when working on the field, especially at night, and  _ especially _ since Stretch hasn’t even properly graduated from the academy.

 

Which is why Blue wakes up extra early the next morning to prepare. By the time Stretch wakes up, his older brother has already showered, gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, and laid out some of Stretch’s more professional exorcist clothing at the foot of his bed.

 

“Morning, Papy!” Blue greets his brother cheerfully when Stretch finally opens his sockets.

 

“nnnnn…..” Is Stretch’s only response. The lazy skeleton shirks away from the light filtering in through the window.

 

“I thought you might say that, but today isn’t for sleeping, brother!” Blue explains, “When working the field, one must always be at the peak of their physical and mental capabilities. Especially on longer missions such as this one!”

 

“... sleep…” Stretch grunts, “... sleep is necessary for me to be physically fit…” He rolls over and nuzzles into his pillow, pulling his blankets tighter around himself.

 

Blue hums. “You’ve slept enough. Now, get showered and ready, then meet me in the courtyard in thirty minutes!”

 

… That seems to make Stretch a little more alert.

 

“the courtyard?”

 

“The courtyard!” Blue confirms. “We’re doing physical training today! Don’t be late - I’m quite familiar with the Academy’s way of disciplining those who are tardy!”

 

Stretch sits straight up in bed, jaw dropped as he looks at his brother.

 

“you… you can’t be serious…” His voice is disbelieving, his sockets wide. Blue could and  _ does _ laugh at the expression.

 

“Consider this as your punishment for sneaking away last night, brother.” Is all Blue says before he leaves, heading for the courtyard where he’s had the help of some of the bunnies who work here help him set up an obstacle course with random objects around the Springs.

 

They were eager to help, telling him that this place hadn’t seen any excitement in a long time. Even now, they were still hanging around the edges of the small patch of greenery, sitting with each other and giggling excitedly.

 

“MY BROTHER SHOULD BE OUT SOON!” He calls out to them. “IT SHOULD PROVIDE FOR SOMETHING QUITE ENTERTAINING!”

 

The bunnies whistle and cheer. Blue can’t help the wide smile on his face as he starts up doing some stretches. Today was for him, too, after all! He wasn’t lying about keeping in shape during a mission. Now that he’s healed, too, he’ll surely benefit from some light exercise.

 

While he stretches, he looks over the small course he’s made. The courtyard had a surprising amount of open, empty, flat space to work with. The grass was green and the land was surrounded by some pretty trees to section the area off, giving the illusion of relative privacy.

 

The bunnies had opened the old shed where they kept supplies and extras for the Springs. Inside were a few more panes of glass that Blue avoided, a stack of old tires, heavy ropes, a few more step stools like the one from earlier and a significantly taller ladder. There were some old, used weights, too.

 

Blue did his best with the materials - the bunnies helped him arrange the tires in two columns to practice stepping in and place the step stools around like hurdles. The ladder is propped up on some extra tires that are stacked on top of each other for Stretch to crawl under. He uses the ropes to section off areas for the bunnies to sit so they won’t get hurt and puts some weights in their own area for later. He makes sure to leave a decent area around the course for jogging, too.

 

In all, it’s a fairly decent course that will work a few essential muscle groups and reflex points.

 

… 

 

When Stretch finally stumbles into the courtyard, he’s dressed in his all-black field wear and looks confused.

 

“this is… uh…”

 

“Hope you don’t mind!” Blue tells him, “Some of the bunnies wanted to watch us practice.” He points to where two more girls are coming towards them, waving excitedly and holding what looks like a picnic blanket as they make their way over.

 

“GOOD MORNING!” Blue waves them over amicably.

 

“Good morning!” They answer in unison, quickly currying out of the way so they can set up the blanket in their sectioned off area and sit with their friends.

 

The girls chat amongst themselves - oh, it appears one of them brought breakfast for the little group. 

 

Which reminds Blue! He’d went out and gotten something light from Dogaressa’s cafe earlier this morning for Stretch to eat.

 

“Here! Eat up fast, then we’ll start stretching!”

 

Stretch quickly gobbles up the muffin Blue had gotten him and drinks down the apple juice. “so, uh…. you’re serious about this?” He sounds careful, treading lightly. Probably trying not to bring anymore ‘punishment’ down on himself.

 

“Definitely! You’d never train if not for the Academy forcing you!” Blue points out, “and It’s been a week since we’ve left home. Time for some well-needed practice.”

 

“Plus,” Blue gestures to their audience, “you wouldn’t want to disappoint your fans, would you?”

 

Stretch blanches as he takes in just how many girls there are seated off to the side, eyes pointed at him and his brother. “you’re evil, bro.”

 

“Sometimes tough love is necessary.” But Blue doesn’t deny Stretch’s accusation.

 

….

 

True to his word, after Blue let Stretch’s breakfast settle, he immediately starts up leading stretches for the two.

 

It’s amusing in itself to watch Stretch struggle to touch his toes after going for a week without doing any stretches at all. He nearly falls over when they start on planks.

 

“this isn’t even a stretch - !” The younger brother wheezes. Blue doesn’t know if the bunnies heard him, but there’s a gentle titter of laughter from over that way. “this is just torture!”

 

“You sure do complain about this a lot for someone who goes by ‘Stretch’!”

 

Stretch grunts. “it's a joke, a meme. you never... never had a good sense of humor though!”

 

“CAREFUL!” Blue’s only joking, but it’s fun to poke at his brother sometimes, “I’m not sure if that’s the tone to take with the one who controls how much exercise you have to do!”

 

Stretch wheezes with finality and collapses onto this stomach.

 

“Oh Well.” Blue lets Stretch rest for a bit, counting to thirty. Once the time is up, he sits up from his own plank and holds out a hand for his brother to take. Stretch is still sprawled out on the ground, as he has been for nearly a minute now…

 

“Come on, brother! Up up!”

 

Stretch groans and pulls on Blue heavily to stand. His sockets narrow at Blue, his teeth open to say something, but he’s startled by the appearance of something behind his older brother. Stretch’s eye lights flick to something over Blue’s head.

 

Curious, Blue turns and sees that on the edge of the courtyard stands Edge, arms crossed. He’s dressed just as edgily as he was on the night Blue first met him. Ripped jeans, dark shirt, boots and chains.

 

He’s staring at the brothers, but when he sees that he’s been caught, he switches to observing the rudimentary obstacle course Blue constructed. His face looks interested as he observes the track.

 

Blue waves. “HELLO! DID YOU WANT TO JOIN US?”

 

Edge’s eye sockets narrow. He says nothing, but huffs and takes a seat right where he is, at the edge of the courtyard nearest to the Springs.

 

Blue doesn’t know if it’s rebellion or he just wants to observe, so he shrugs and turns back to Stretch. “Alright then, another observer! Let’s do laps.”

 

Stretch lets out a tired groan and reluctantly follows Blue’s lead. The older skeleton sets a brisk pace. He’s thinking… 10 laps for a starter? Then they can run through the course a few times.

 

He keeps an eye on Edge the entire time, while Stretch seems to be more focused on his little group of cheerleaders. They keep up their praise, even after Blue has already finished his laps and forces Stretch to trudge through the last few.

 

“You’re out of shape.” Blue observes once Stretch finally drops face first in front of his older brother, having just completed his required laps. Even  _ he _ had taken pitty on the tall monster, no longer critiquing his form after Stretch had started to slow down in his fourth lap.

 

“i’m in shape.” Stretch retorts, “it just happens to be a very slow rectangle.”

 

“I see. Well, get your rectangle ready for the…” Blue does jazz hands, “Obstacle Course!” he points to each individual part of the course as he explains, “Begin with the Tires of Trouble. If you manage to not get  _ tripped up _ by those, you’ll progress to the Limbo Ladder, where you will have to crawl for ten feet before jumping up and jumping  _ over _ the Harrowing Hurdles!” It’s a fairly short course, but Blue has an extra trick up his sleeve.

 

“If you brush against, touch, or trip over any of the obstacles, you must do fifteen burpees before continuing!”

 

Stretch nearly falls over again.

 

“bro,” He pleads, “bro, i can’t do this!”

 

“Of course you can, Papy! I believe in you!” Blue gives Stretch a meager pat on the shoulder before stepping forward. “Here, I’ll demonstrate!”

 

Blue runs through the course in less than three minutes, earning many cheers from the bunnies. He waves to his exuberant audience and poses, “That’s how it’s done!”

 

He gives one final instruction to Stretch before the younger skeleton is allowed to start. “Remember, your goal is to complete the course in five minutes or less, or you have to go until you can!”

 

…

 

Que what was probably the most painful two hours of Stretch’s life. The course itself was short, yes, but he kept falling or tripping, and all the extra burpees were not only adding to his time, but they were also tiring him out, making him sloppier and slower as time continued.

 

… Maybe it’s time to take a break, to let Stretch regain his stamina.

 

“OKAY, LET’S BREAK!” Blue says it loud enough so everybody in the courtyard can hear. Some of the bunny girls had left half an hour ago, so he figures the novelty must be wearing off.

 

Stretch makes a strangled noise as he drags himself over to where Blue has set up a little area for the two of them to rest. The two of them sit for a little, Blue commenting on Stretch’s form while the younger listens and interjects with a jew jokes from time to time.

 

To their great surprise, however, the bunnies that had left earlier were returning, and with treats. In their arms are several bags from Grillby’s. They walk over to the girls who had stayed and distribute the food among them.

 

Then, one girl, Blue recognizes her as the one who had shown them around the Springs when they first arrived, comes over with another bag.

 

“Here! We thought you guys might be hungry after all that training! Good job, you’re super strong!” Stretch lurches up suddenly, and grabs the back greedily, ripping it open and shoving some stray fries into his face. Blue grimaces.

 

“Don’t be rude…” He turns to the bunny, “Thank you! It’s very kind of you all to think of us!”

 

She giggles, “No worries! This is the most fun we’ve had in awhile!” She waves to them and goes back to eat with her little group.

 

Stretch digs in as soon as she leaves, but Blue’s gaze wanders back over to where Edge is still watching them. He’s hardly moved this entire time. Instead, he seems to be observing. Once again Blue waves him over.

 

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?”

 

Edge looks away, then back. But instead of joining them like Blue suggested, he stands and goes back into the Springs.

 

Blue frowns and looks down at his food.

 

…

 

After they’re done eating, Blue allows them a bit of time to let the food settle before they start up on stretches again. “We can work on weights and strength training next!”

 

“the academy never made me do this…”

 

“This is the life of a true exorcist.” Blue informs him.

 

They’re distracted by the entrance of Edge, yet again.

 

This time, however, the young skeleton is dressed in shorts and an exercise shirt. There’s no chains and his boots are gone. Instead, he’s wearing sneakers. He briskly walks over to where Blue and Stretch are preparing to continue their exercise and stops in front of Blue.

 

“I WANT TO…” He trails, sounding almost nervous. “I WANT TO TRAIN WITH YOU!”

 

Blue blinks in surprise.

 

“Really?”

 

“YES! I WOULDN’T BE HERE IF I DIDN’T!” Edge huffs.

 

“Okay, okay, no need to be prickly! We’re going to do stretches first! Would you like to run the obstacles? I can coach you while Stretch trains with the weights.” Blue offers.

 

Edge looks past Blue to where Stretch is leaning against a tree, looking bored. He looks back to Blue with a determined look on his face.

 

“THAT WOULD BE… Satisfactory”

 

“Alright then!”

 

The three of them train until the sun is setting. The bunnies seem enthusiastic while cheering on the son of their boss, but some are still loyal to Stretch, and encourage him as he lifts weights and does pushups as well as he can.

 

Edge doesn’t complain nearly as much as Stretch, and the youngest and eldest skeleton bond over teasing Stretch for his laziness.

 

A few times, Blue catch’s Edge actually smiling.

 

By the time they call it quits, it’s almost dark outside and they’re all sweaty and disheveled.

 

“Good job!” Blue praises Edge, who merely grunts and turns away to hide the light flush of embarrassment on his cheek bones.

 

“YOU ARE AN ADEQUATE COACH.” He compliments. Blue grins and bids the taller goodbye when he goes to leave.

 

Stretch catches up with Blue not too long after, huffing and sweating.

 

“i feel dead.”

 

“You  _ are _ a skeleton.”

 

“this is really a bad time for you to grow a sense of humor.”

 

Blue cackles while Stretch grumbles.

 

Just as he’s about to start deconstructing the course, he’s stopped by the bunny girls rushing over. “Don’t worry!” One of them says, “You worked a lot today! We’ll put all of this away!”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to - “ Blue tries to object, but he’s swept away by the bunny who’d given him food earlier.

 

“You were so fun to watch today! Let us help you out, go back to your rooms and rest!”

 

Reluctantly, Blue allows himself to be led away, Stretch following easily. They’re promptly deposited back in their rooms.

 

… 

 

“We need another shower…” Blue notes.

 

Even despite the stink, Blue was oddly happy. Today was the first time since he'd gotten here that he'd been able to take things at a reasonable pace, to take a break.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changes in chapter 1. : noted that the train ride to the village was a day long (seems unimportant but will have some use in the plot later)
> 
> changes in chapter 10.: red insists that blue take the night to rest before they go to the hot springs together. also went through and changed the tense for this chapter while i was at it (takes a lot longer than i thought ;-;)
> 
> changes in chapter 11: makes mention of how a day has passed since the glass-incident and the title changed from 'naked?? and in a tub??? at this point it's just cruel' to 'naked?? and in a pool??? at this point it's just cruel.' because it makes more sense
> 
> _____  
> y'alllll........ this took SO LONG to write. for real. 
> 
> sudden burst of inspiration and i pumped out like 3k for this fic, including the beginning of next chapter ^^;
> 
> can't say im back on a regular schedule for this, but have this at least lol!
> 
> leave a comment if you'd like!
> 
> here's the [poll](https://www.poll-maker.com/poll2624040xe52f4C2E-75) again in case you didn't vote


	16. a visit to the librarby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beware, there's way more boobs in this chapter than the title may lead you to believe...

 

 

After Blue deems Stretch properly regretful of his actions and they’re both showered, he figures the first course of action should be creating a timeline. All the exercise of the day has done little to tire him out, instead, it boosted his energy and his mind.

 

Again, the older brother questioned his younger’s ‘inside source’, but the lazy skeleton was uncharacteristically steadfast in his dedication to the secret. Stretch had reassured Blue over and over that the source was safe to contact, however, so Blue grudgingly didn’t pry any further.

 

The timeline starts with Wing’s house fire (as mentioned by Dogaressa. Stretch had said his source corroborated this fact) and continues on with the strange series of events that occurs shortly after. Several men missing, the mysterious death of the previous priest…

 

“go to bed.” Stretch tells Blue from his own bed. His voice is tired.

 

The older brother has been all but been pacing around the room as he thinks about all the different connections.

 

_ Edge has summoned a demon _ .

 

Fact. The very same Edge who had watched Blue and Stretch exercise with such an intent expression, only to ask to join a few hours later - 

 

_ It’s very likely, all things considered, that Wing or someone close to him summoned a demon over three decades ago. _

 

Also Fact.

 

However, there’s a few missing pieces.

 

The murders, the fire, the disappearances - those can be chalked up to regular demon mischief. There are bound to be deaths when a demon is let loose on an unsuspecting population, but the targets are what has Blue most concerned.

 

The - alleged - demon supposedly targeted only church members. They all died at the foot of Wing’s house while it was on fire. Wing escaped, only barely…

 

If Wing summoned the demon and it truly did turn on him,  _ why _ would he allow his son to do the same thing?

 

How did he get the demon to return to the underworld?

 

How had he  _ summoned the demon in the first place? _

 

“i can hear you thinking from all the way over here.” Stretch complains again. “just go to bed.”

 

“It doesn’t make sense, Papy.” Blue replies. He’s said the same thing many times in the span of a few hours.

 

The whole situation just doesn’t make sense.

 

“Demons don’t  _ strategize _ . They don’t think about their victims. They kill opportunistically. And yet we have a concentrated demographic of highly religious humans - not to mention the attack on  _ Wing’s _ family, which doesn’t make  _ any _ sense!” Blue runs a hand down his face as he rants. “It doesn’t make sense...” He repeats.

 

“go. to. sleep.” Stretch chants apathetically.

 

“...  _ Then _ there’s the recent attack - which seems to have the same target. Thomas was allegedly part of a group of humans who attended church regularly and were close with the priest…”

 

“bed time. now.”

 

“And now the demon’s gone off the radar,  _ again!” _ Blue exclaims. “If this pattern continues, there might not even be another attack for forty years!”

 

“let’s hope.” Stretch yawns. “then we can go home.”

 

“I thought you were invested in this case, as well.” Blue points out.

 

“that was before my drill sergeant made me exercise today.” The taller brother counters. “i’m sleepy, you’re sleepy, we’ll check the town records tomorrow, okay?”

 

Blue paces for a few moments more before he sits on his bed heavily and sighs just as loudly. “That sounds like a good place to start. I’d like to begin gathering evidence before I confront Father Rodger.”

 

Stretch only grunts. Blue lays back in his bed and lets his sockets slip shut. May he leave the worries of today in the past, and go forward with a clearer mindset.

 

_ …  _

 

_ When Blue dreams, he dreams of a world on fire. Nothing is safe from the stifling flames. They reach up, up, upwards towards the sky, blocking the moon. _

 

_ It’s so hot, he can hardly breathe. He can’t get out, can’t escape -  _

 

…

 

Blue wakes with a gasp.

 

Stretch is still snoring away in the bed across from his, looking dead to the world. Blue takes a few deep breaths to calm himself and his racing SOUL. Is that what Wing had felt like on the night his house burned down?

 

The exorcist remembers what the tall monster had told him. That there are those in this town who would burn down a building with him in it.

 

It was oddly specific phrasing, now that Blue thinks about it.

 

… He decides to wash away the night’s fears with a brisk shower. Hopefully by the time he’s out, Stretch will be at least awake in time to head to the library and inquire about town records. Does this town even  _ have _ a library? Surely it must.

 

The shower is a blissful break from thinking, where Blue mindlessly scrubs down his bones and relaxes. There’s been so much action in the past few days that it’s nearing insanity. Getting drunk, going on a not-date, breaking windows, almost being broken  _ by _ a window, hot springs….

 

… Kissing Red…

 

Stretch continuing the hectic week by sneaking out to pursue an unknown lead. Yesterday was a peaceful end to the week, in Blue’s opinion. No thoughts of demons (mostly, anyways), no investigation. Just some good old physical therapy!

 

At this point, Blue is more than glad to take some time to step back from it all and do some normal research at a library. Harvest, he’d never thought that there’d be a day when he’d want a  _ break. _

 

Hadn’t this been what he’d wanted, after all? The no-break, busy,  _ crazy _ schedule of an exorcist?

 

Strange how, as soon as blue got a taste of it again… he almost wants to be back home, reading in his arm chair while Stretch teases him for being an ‘old man’.

 

Ah… this shower wasn’t so relaxing, after all. Blue sighs as he shuts off the water and steps out to dry himself off and dress in his regular wear.

 

When he exits the bathroom, Stretch is waiting, already dressed. Blue raises a brow bone in mild surprise. “Already ready? I’m impressed!”

 

Stretch shrugs casually, “figured it might beat waking up to you shaking me outta my  _ skin. _ ”

 

Blue’s face instantly sours. “Annnnd…. There it is. Your insatiable need to make mediocre jokes.”

 

The two brothers trade a few more quips before Stretch holds the screen of his phone up for Blue to see. “it took a long time to load, but i got the website for the local library pulled up. looks like they’re a few blocks east from the church.”

 

Blue pats Stretch’s shoulder. “Alright! I have a good feeling about this week!” He exclaims.

 

Stretch grins at his older brother and follows him out. “does it have anything to do with a certain waiter…?”

 

Blue’s grin falls, and Stretch notices. The taller backtracks almost immediately, “or, you know, it could be the good weather…” He sweats as he watches Blue roll his eye lights. “... right?”

 

“It’s fine. Red and I have come to a…” How does Blue describe what happened? “... Mutual agreement that our behavior has been unprofessional thus far. And it won’t continue.” Stretch feels a frown pull at his own skeletal grin as he follows after Blue, who’s walking much faster than before.

 

“... you broke it off?”

 

“There was nothing to break off in the first place!” Blue insists with a false cheeriness, “I was being… irrational.”

 

Stretch hums, unconvinced. “yeah and how does red feel about all of this?”

 

“Considering how receptive he was to my advances, I’d say he’s rather relieved.” Blue tells his brother a bit sharply.  _ Stars _ , how he wants to talk about anything else than the way Red had stilled and shook when Blue kissed him.

 

The look of  _ fear _ in his eye lights.

 

“... okay.”

 

… 

 

Blue attempts to fill in the tense silence on their walk by pointing out buildings or trees they hadn’t noticed before.

 

“This really is a lovely area!” He exclaims. “Although it seems we came a bit too late to enjoy the trees blooming…”

 

Truly, for the first time since their arrival, Blue takes a moment to  _ appreciate _ the little village-like town they’d come to. His eye lights don’t linger on alleyways, nor does he eye passengers as potential suspects.

 

He tries to commit to memory the gentle shining of the sun on his bones, the fresh mountain air.

 

This really  _ is _ a wonderful area if you don’t count the inclination of it towards demons.

 

The two come upon the library not too long later, but Blue can’t help but notice….

 

…

 

His thoughts are cut off by Stretch bursting into laughter next to him. Blue’s eye sockets narrow as he lightly slaps his brother’s arm. “Don’t be rude, Papy!”

 

But even he can’t help the way his eyes boggle at the sign above the library’s door.

 

_ Librarby _

 

“librarby!” Stretch snickers, “oh, that’s good…”

 

Blue’s cheeks flush as he notices an older lady walking around them, staring at Stretch, who is positively beside himself with laughter. He averts his eye lights down and pretends for a few moments to not know who his younger brother is.

 

“You are SO embarrassing!”

 

Stretch smirks. The exorcist-in-training had noticed the woman, just hadn’t paid her any attention. But if he was going to get such a reaction out of his usually composed brother…

 

“hey!” Stretch shouts to no one in particular, causing Blue to flinch and flush even further, “look at me, here with my bro!”

 

_ “Papyrus - “ _ Blue hisses.

 

“i,” Stretch continues loudly uninhibited, “am about to walk into the town  _ librarby _ !”

 

The lady, who had stopped to watch the two of them with no small amount of disapproval, shakes her head and turns to leave.

 

“SORRY, MA’AM!” Blue calls out, desperately hoping she hears him. He turns a furious gaze on Stretch next, positively  _ humiliated _ . “ _ You _ are going to shut your mouth and  _ keep _ it shut or else I will have you  _ jog _ back to the Academy tomorrow morning.”

 

The threat is an idle one, Stretch knows. Blue can’t send him back in the middle of an investigation, not to mention that the Academy is hundreds of miles away. So he keeps his teasing expression and saunters into the  _ librarby _ smugly.

 

Blue screams softly into his gloved hands for a few moments before composing himself and marching in after his younger brother.

 

_ Maybe this is karma. _

 

Inside, Stretch is lounging against a short bookshelf, inspecting the cover of what looks to be a salacious romance novel. The protagonist’s scantily clad breasts have a lot to say about what might be contained within the novel.

 

“We are here on  _ business _ .” Blue reminds him sharply, still upset over the stunt he’d pulled earlier. It’s an echo of how he used to scold himself when he started thinking too much about Red, and  _ oh Stars, he’s thinking about Red again - STOP -  _

 

“aww, i swear i’ll be on my  _ breast _ behavior from now on…” Stretch sings in faux-innocence. Blue’s eye sockets narrow suspiciously. Stretch blinks his sockets rapidly in the imitation of a child pretending to tell the truth, “i swear i  _ tit _ -n’t mean to em- _ bra _ -ress you.”

 

Blue’s annoyance swirls around in his rib cage for a while before it dies, snuffed out like a candle. He sighs - Stretch is just being his usual silly self. It won’t do any good to get upset, especially since he’d technically done nothing wrong. Blue is just being irritable again.

 

So. Blue decides to respond to his younger brother with a small joke of his own.

 

“I would feel better if you would refrain from acting like a  _ boob _ in public from now on.” Blue says in a mocking version of his usual serious tone.

 

Stretch laughs at that, having to hold a hand over his grin to keep in the chuckles. Blue doesn’t say vulgar things around Stretch usually, so it must be a humorous surprise to him. Proud, Blue walks over to the front desk, where a bored looking monster is flipping through a magazine.

 

“Excuse me,” Blue starts politely, “Do you keep town records here?”

 

The monster, who had green-ish fur that fluffed up in spikes at the back of their head and a roundish snout, looked up past their glasses to where Blue was standing. “... Yes. Do you need them?”

 

“They’d be quite useful, yes...” Blue chuckles, “I’m looking in particular for documents relating to anywhere from forty to thirty years ago…?”

 

The monster nods, “I’ll be back shortly, and…” Their unnerving stare turns to Stretch, who stiffens at the look. “Yes, I know the sign is spelled wrong.” They say in a dead-serious tone that rivals Blue’s.

 

When the monster steps away, it’s Blue’s turn to burst into unexpected laughter and for Stretch to blush.

 

“Oh Stars, Papy…” He wheezes.

 

“.... shut up.” Stretch whines, shamed, arms crossed over his rib cage.

 

…

 

Blue and Stretch spend hours pouring over news articles and pictures, separating them into piles of things that may have been relating to demonic activity and regular human or monster shenanigans. 

 

The older skeleton’s skull is brimming with ideas. It seems there had been a serial vandalist about thirty five years ago who would go around smashing windows or smashing up trash cans in alleyways…

 

… Articles about the vandalism had come to an eerie stop after they found the article that referenced what must have been Wing’s house catching fire and burning down. Four men had disappeared…

 

Stretch again had to pull his brother away from his work when the sun set and the streets outside became dark.

 

“hey, the library’s closing down.” The taller skeleton shakes Blue’s shoulder gently.

 

“Huh?” Blue looks up, dazed and tired from reading the tiny lettering of the newspapers. He remembers where he is a moment later, spine snapping straight. “Oh, of course!” They seem to be the only ones left in the library by now besides the librarian monster who is looking at them with a dispassionate stare.

 

“I have to close down soon.” They say.

 

Blue nods, “Of course… um, there isn’t a way I could take these with me, is there... ? I’ll return them!”

 

The librarian, much to Blue’s disappointment, shakes their head. “Not without a library card, and we don’t usually hand those out to tourists.”

 

Blue deflates.

 

“Of course…” He sighs. Well. It seems like he might just have to spend his days scouring documents quietly at the library.

 

He and Stretch leave to walk back to the Springs. It’s admittedly nice to stretch his legs after sitting and standing in one place for so long.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha! two weeks in a row of chapters!
> 
> i'm on a roll, guys!
> 
> this makes two chapters without red, but rest assured, for our favorite little boy will feature heavily in the next chapter ;)
> 
> i'd also like to mention that plot things are about to be happening a lot really soon. take with that information what you will.
> 
> __  
> leave a comment if you'd like and remember to stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> guess who wanted to write a kustard fic but got caught up in this plot instead?
> 
> me. the answer is me.
> 
> where is this going? hopefully in the direction of skeletons smooching.
> 
> so, uh, stick around if you'd like to see that happen :)
> 
> here's my tumblr hmu or smth - [@beanniebenn](https://beanniebenn.tumblr.com)


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